USS Hitchiti | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Hitchiti |
Namesake | Hitchiti |
Builder | Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. |
Laid down | 24 August 1943 |
Launched | 29 January 1944 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Olin D. Johnston |
Commissioned | 27 May 1944 |
Decommissioned | 30 April 1948 |
Recommissioned | 3 January 1951 |
Stricken | 30 September 1979 |
Identification |
|
Honours and awards | See Awards |
Fate | Sold to Mexico, 1976 |
History | |
Mexico | |
Name | Chac |
Namesake | Chaac |
Acquired | 1 September 1976 |
Commissioned | 30 September 1978 |
Identification | Pennant number: R-55 |
Renamed | Cora |
Namesake | Cora |
Reclassified | ARE-04, 2001 |
Homeport | Manzanillo |
Status | Active |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Abnaki-class tugboat |
Displacement |
|
Length | 205 ft 0 in (62.48 m) |
Beam | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
Draft | 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
Range | 15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
Complement | 85 officers and enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems | AN/SPS-5B surface-search radar |
Armament |
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USS Hitchiti (ATF-103) was Abnaki-class tugboat during the World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The ship was later sold to Mexico as ARM Chac (R-55). Her namesake is a tribe of Creek Indians who lived in Florida and Georgia. The word "Hitchiti" means "to look up the stream." [1]
The ship is displaced 1,589 tonnes (1,564 long tons) at standard load and 1,675 tonnes (1,649 long tons) at deep load The ships measured 205 feet (62.5 m) long overall with a beam of 38 feet 6 inches (11.7 m). They had a draft of 15 feet 4 inches (4.7 m). The ships' complement consisted of 85 officers and ratings.
The ships had two General Motors 12-278A diesel engines, one shaft. The engines produced a total of 3,600 shaft horsepower (2,700 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). They carried a maximum of 10 tonnes (10 long tons) of fuel oil that gave them a range of 15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).
The Abnaki class was armed with a 3"/50 caliber gun anti-aircraft gun, two single-mount Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and two twin-gun mounts for Bofors 40 mm gun.
The ship was built at the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. at Charleston, South Carolina. She was laid down on 24 August 1943 and launched on 29 January 1944. The ship was commissioned on 27 May 1944. [2]
After shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay area, the fleet tug sailed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor with four tows 26 August 1944. Hitchiti was engaged in towing operations at Eniwetok and Ulithi until October, when she joined the support unit off the Philippine Islands during the momentous Battle of Leyte Gulf. She returned to Ulithi for further towing operations until 29 December when she joined the 3rd Fleet for the seizure of Luzon. Work off Okinawa alternated with operations in the Philippines that summer, and as the war ended, Hitchiti remained in the Pacific for salvage and towing operations.
In 1946, she performed harbor duty in Japanese waters as well as at various Pacific island bases, returning to the United States in September for overhaul at Bremerton. After further harbor work at Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein, Hitchiti reached San Francisco on 26 December 1947 and decommissioned there 30 April 1948.
Recommissioned at Alameda, California on 3 January 1951, amid the Korean War. Hitchiti joined the fleet in Jananese waters on 21 April to participate in operations off the Korean coast. Escort duties alternated with salvage operations along the war-torn peninsula until she returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 February 1952.
Hitchiti participated in towing and salvage work at Pearl Harbor and along the California coast until sailing for Alaskan waters on 23 March 1954. Her 7-month tour in the north was followed by further duty in Hawaii and off the West Coast until she returned for a brief tour in September 1955.
Hitchiti sailed for Sasebo, Japan on 22 May 1956, to begin her first Western Pacific cruise. This and six subsequent cruises took her to Hong Kong, Guam, Okinawa, and the Philippines for towing and salvage as well as tactical training.
Hitchiti's Western Pacific deployments, interspersed with duty at Pearl Harbor and off the California coast, were varied by visits to Mexico in 1959 and 1961 as well as a third cruise to Alaskan waters from 21 October 1960 until 14 January 1961. From 19 September to 14 November 1962, the veteran fleet tug participated in U.S. nuclear testing at Johnston Island in the Pacific. All of 1963 was spent serving the fleet in Hawaiian waters. On 26 October, Hitchiti freed Hai Fu off Honolulu after the Chinese merchant ship had grounded.
Hitchiti joined the 7th Fleet on 18 May 1964 and operated off Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. She once again returned to Pearl Harbor on 7 October for a brief refitting. From 25 January 1965 to 23 March, Hitchiti made a birdlife study on South Pacific islands for the Smithsonian Institution. She once again joined the 7th Fleet off Vietnam 25 October and operated in the war zone until 12 April 1966. Hitchiti arrived back at Pearl Harbor on 27 April having 9,000 miles of towing and four salvage operations to her credit during the deployment. She then operated in Hawaiian waters into 1967.
She was finally stricken on 30 September 1979.
The SEMAR highlighted that the ARM Cora (ARE-04) was acquired from the United States on September 1, 1976, under the Security Assistance Program to Mexico, and was discharged in the Mexican Navy on September 30, 1978, being flagged in the then Second Naval Zone based in Ensenada, BC. During the period from February 1, 1994, to May 16, 2001, it had the name Chac (R-55), later changing its name to the current name. [3]
On 6 November 2001, by Secretarial Agreement and in accordance with the "Guidelines and Regulations for the Classification, Classification and Assignment of Names and Numbers of the Ships of the Mexican Navy", the unit was classified as Auxiliary Vessel, type: tug., with official name: Navy Republic of Mexico Cora (ARE-04). [3]
On 16 May 2004, the ship was attached to the Flotilla of Auxiliary Ships of the Pacific Naval Force in Manzanillo, Colima. [3]
On 16 July 2007, she was assigned to the 6th Naval Region, with the same headquarters, by instructions of the C. Admiral Secretary of the Navy, and by 1 July 2008, when the 8th Flotilla was created, in the same port and dependent on the 6th Naval Region, according to Secretarial Agreement Number 97 dated 17 June 2008, this unit was attached to this flotilla. [3]
The ship has a total of 8 battle stars throughout her career.
USS Abnaki (ATF-96) was the lead ship of the Abnaki class of fleet ocean tugs in the service of the United States Navy, named after the Abenaki tribe of Native Americans. She was laid down on 28 November 1942 at Charleston, South Carolina by Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock, launched on 22 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. James Mayon Jones, and commissioned at the Charleston Navy Yard on 25 November 1943. Abnaki earned three battle stars for service during the Korean War and 10 battle stars during the Vietnam War.
USS Munsee (AT/ATF-107) was an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug. She is the only ship of the United States Navy to hold the name Munsee, which is the name of a subtribe of the Delaware Indians, still living in Wisconsin and Kansas.
USS Arikara (AT-98) was an Abnaki-class of fleet ocean tug. It was named after the Arikara, a loose confederacy of sub-tribes of American Indians related to the Pawnee. The Arikara inhabited villages in the Missouri River valley.
USS Cree (AT/ATF-84), a Cherokee-class fleet tug, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the Cree, an indigenous people of North America whose people range from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.
USS Quapaw (ATF–110/AT-110) was a Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug in the United States Navy. She was named after the Quapaw.
USS Navajo (AT-64) was an oceangoing tugboat in the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was named for the Navajo people. Originally called the Navajo-class of fleet tugs, they were later renamed the Cherokee-class after loss of the first two ships of the class.
USS Cahuilla (ATF-152) was an Abnaki class fleet tug in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. In 1961 she was sold to the Argentine Navy as ARA Irigoyen (A-1) where she served until 2009 when she became a Museum ship.
USS Chickasaw (AT-83/ATF-83) was a Navajo-class fleet tug constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean in World War II and the Korean War, and was awarded six battle stars for World War II and two battle stars during the Korean War.
USS Lipan (AT-85) was a Navajo-class fleet tug constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. Her purpose was to aid ships, usually by towing, on the high seas or in combat or post-combat areas, plus "other duties as assigned." She served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II and the Korean War. She was awarded two battle stars for World War II and four battle stars for the Korean War.
USS Mataco (AT-86/ATF-86) was a Navajo-class fleet tug constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. Her purpose was to aid ships, usually by towing, on the high seas or in combat or post-combat areas, plus "other duties as assigned." She served in the Pacific Ocean and was awarded five battle stars for World War II, four battle stars for the Korean War, and seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service.
USS Apache (AT-67/ATF-67) was a Navajo-class fleet tug, later fleet ocean tug, in commission in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946 and from 1951 to 1974. She saw service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
USNS Sioux (T-ATF-171) was a United States Navy Powhatan-class tugboat operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC). She was in service from 1981 to 2021 and spent the bulk of this time supporting the Pacific Fleet.
USS Cocopa (ATF-101) was an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug that served on active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1978, seeing action in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. After thirty-four years of service, she was sold to the Mexican Navy, where she was still in service as of 2009.
USS Tawakoni (ATF-114) was an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug that served on active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1978, seeing action in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. After thirty-four years of service, she was sold to the Republic of China Navy (Taiwan), where she served until November 2020.
ARA Suboficial Castillo (A-6) was an Abnaki-class tug/patrol boat of the Argentine Navy. She previously served in the United States Navy as USS Takelma (ATF-113) from 1944 to 1992. The ship was acquired by Argentina in 1993 and was in service until the 2020s. In 2022, the ship was put up for sale. Suboficial Castillo was used as support ship for both the Argentine Submarine Force and during the summer campaigns in Antarctica in the Patrulla Antártica Naval Combinada with the Chilean Navy to guarantee safety to all touristic and scientific ships that are in transit within the Antarctic Peninsula.
USS Molala (AT-106/ATF-106) was a US Navy Abnaki-class tugboat, named after the Molala people of Oregon.
USS Moctobi (ATF-105) was an Abnaki-class of fleet ocean tug. She served in World War II, Vietnam, and Korea, the last two of which she received battle stars. She was scrapped in 2012.
USS Hidatsa (ATF-102) was Abnaki-class tugboat during the World War II. The ship was later sold to Colombia as ARC Rodrigo de Bastidas (RM-74). Her namesake is an Indian group of the Sioux Tribe of North Dakota, now living on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
USS Jicarilla (ATF-104) was Abnaki-class tugboat during the World War II. The ship was later sold to Colombia as ARC Sebastián De Belalcázar (RM-73). Her namesake is a group of the Apache tribe found in the southwestern United States.
USS Wenatchee (ATF-118) was an Abnaki-class tugboat during the World War II. Her namesake was a tribe of Indians of the Salishan language group, who lived in the area that is now central Washington state, principally around Lake Chelan.