History
United States
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	1904
Acquired	6 February 1942
Commissioned	31 December 1942
Stricken	22 December 1944
Fate	Wrecked 31 December 1942; later scrapped
General characteristics
Displacement	738 tons
Length	175 ft 6 in (53.49 m)
Beam	34 ft (10 m)
Speed	10 knots
Armament	Armament four .30 cal. machine guns

USS Rescuer (ARS-18) was a Rescuer-class rescue and salvage ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels.

Rescuer (ARS-18) was built in 1904 as tug Casper by United Engine Works, and acquired for the Navy 6 February 1942 by the Port Director, San Pedro, California.

Assigned to the 13th Naval District on 7 February 1942, Rescuer underwent conversion at Seattle, Washington, then headed north to the waters of the Territory of Alaska, where she served during her brief naval career.

On 31 December 1942, while engaged in salvaging the stranded Soviet cargo ship SS Turksib near Scotch Cap (54°24′15″N 164°47′30″W / 54.40417°N 164.79167°W / 54.40417; -164.79167 (Scotch Cap)) on the southwest corner of Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands, Rescuer was carried on to the beach in an 80-mph (129-km/h) gale, badly holed, and wrecked.^[1] Her third engineer fell overboard and drowned.^[1] Her name was struck from the Navy list on 22 December 1944.

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Archived 2006-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - ARS-18 Rescuer