Rhea I (AMc-58)
1941-1946
A non-flying bird, a member of the Ostrich family, found in South America.
I
(AMc-58: displacement 340; length 98'6"; beam 24'0"; draft 11'0"; speed 10.0 knots; armament 2 .50 caliber machine guns, 4 rifles; class Rhea)
The wooden-hulled purse seiner, Hull No. 250, being built at San Diego, Calif., by the Martinolich Shipbuilding Co.; was purchased on the ways by the Navy on 31 December 1940. Designated as a coastal minesweeper, AMc-58; the vessel was named Rhea on 5 March 1941 and launched on 9 August 1941; sponsored by Miss Marjorie Strong; and placed in service on 15 October 1941.
Fitted out at San Diego, Rhea, equipped with acoustical, magnetic, and "O"-type gear, remained on the west coast, at San Francisco, Calif., until she sailed west in early March 1942 to assume duties in the Fourteenth Naval District. Arriving at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 11 March, she operated in Hawaiian waters until she returned to San Diego after the end of World War II.
Placed out of service on 22 January 1946, she was stricken from the Navy Register on 7 February 1946; released to the Maritime Commission on 30 December 1947, and, subsequently, sold to Demiter J. Callian.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
9 April 2024
