Commissioned During World War II : Navy Destroyer Tender Ends 43-Year Career

The Navy severed another link with World War II Tuesday when it decommissioned the destroyer tender Hector, which joined the Pacific Fleet in 1944 and repaired American ships at sea as they battled the Japanese Navy.

Built in San Pedro by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corp.--now the Todd Shipyards Corp.--the Hector was commissioned on Feb. 7, 1944, and had served the Navy continuously until Tuesday, when it was officially removed from service in San Diego. During its 43 years of service, the Hector also served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

In 1965, while it was anchored in Alameda, the Hector set a Navy record by servicing 28 ships at one time, 13 of which were actually tied up to it, said Chief Journalist Craig Huebler.

Until Tuesday, the Hector was the third oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy. Only the destroyer tender Prairie, commissioned Aug. 5, 1940, and the submarine tender Proteus, commissioned Jan. 31, 1944, have served the Navy longer. Cmdr. Mark Baker said that some ships on active duty--like the battleship New Jersey--were commissioned earlier in World War II, but have not served continuously because they have been mothballed and recommissioned several times.

“When I think of vintage ships like the Hector, I think of the thousands of men who lived on board ship . . . It does strike a sad chord,” said Baker of the decommissioning of the ship.

Huebler said that the Hector saw action in the Marshalls, Carolinas, Philippines and Marianas campaigns during World War II, helping to repair ships for the final naval assault on Japan.

“This old ship serviced and helped to maintain destroyers at sea. Its mission was to do the repairs that are needed on an ongoing basis, like repairing the boilers,” said Huebler. “It did the repairs that could’ve been done without going to dry dock.”

Huebler said that the ship is being decommissioned “only because of its age” and that the ship was never updated. The Hector’s hull was riveted together, while today’s ships have smooth hulls. The rivets added to the ship’s weight and made it heavier and slower, Huebler said.

“The other destroyer tenders that we have can do substantially more than the Hector. The Hector was not capable of doing the sophisticated electronic repairs,” Huebler said. “But the machinery that was installed on the old ship in World War II was still being used. Things like the heavy lathe machinery that was used for repairs were the originals.”

The Hector was one of four “Ajax” class repair ships commissioned during World War II. The Vulcan was built in New York by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., while the Ajax and Jason, like the Hector, were built by the Los Angeles-based company. According to Baker, only the Jason, which was the last of the sister ships to be commissioned on June 19, 1944, is still on active duty.

Although designed to carry a crew of 1,336 men, when it was retired the Hector’s crew numbered 700 sailors, including 150 women, and was commanded by Capt. H. Warfield Leeke Jr., Huebler said.

The Hector will be put on the Navy’s inactive reserve list and will be towed to Hawaii, where it will be mothballed.