USS Rainier (AE-5), the second US Navy vessel named after Mount Rainier, was laid down on 14 May 1940 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Fla., as Rainbow (MC hull 124); launched 1 March 1941; sponsored by Mrs. Robert E. Anderson; transferred to the US Navy on 16 April 1941; converted for use as an ammunition auxiliary; and commissioned as Rainier (AE-5) on 21 December 1941 at Norfolk, Va.. World War II After a 6-week shakedown in Cuban waters, Rainier transited the Panama Canal and reported to Commander, Surface Force, Pacific Fleet. Between February and May 1942, she made two ammunition runs from Port Chicago, Calif., to Pearl Harbor, whence, on 10 May, she steamed for Tongatapu. There, through the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, she offloaded her cargo for transfer to shore depots and issued ammunition to Allied ships, particularly task forces 18, 15, and 16. At the end of July, she shifted to the Fijis to supply ships preparing for Operation Watchtower, the assault on the Solomons. Then, on 5 August, she continued on to Noumea, New Caledonia, where she remained through the initial phases of the Guadalcanal campaign. On 24 September, Rainier moved southeast to Auckland and on 27 September headed back to the United States. For the remainder of the year and into 1943, she made ammunition and general cargo runs between the west coast and Hawaii. At the end of February, she sailed once more for the South Pacific. She arrived at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides on 17 March and remained until 5 May. She then shifted to Efate where she offloaded her remaining torpedoes and ammunition; took on empty shell cases and damaged ammunition; and on the 14th got underway to return to San Francisco and another 5 months of west coast-Hawaii shuttle operations. On 25 October, she headed back to Efate. Arriving on 11 November, just prior to the Gilbert Islands campaign, she discharged general and ammunition cargo in Havannah Harbor into December. On the 21st, she shifted to Espiritu Santo; thence proceeded to Funafuti in the Ellice group. There, she issued ammunition to ships of the fast carrier forces, to the defense forces of the occupied areas, and to the forces preparing for the Marshalls offensive. On 31 January 1944, Majuro was occupied and work was begun to turn the atoll into a major advance base. Rainier arrived