USS Hopi (AT-71) underway, circa 1940s. | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Hopi (AT-71) |
Namesake | Hopi |
Builder | Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. |
Laid down | 5 May 1942 |
Launched | 7 September 1942 |
Commissioned | 31 March 1943 |
Decommissioned | 9 December 1955 |
Reclassified | Fleet ocean tug ATF-71, 15 May 1944 |
Stricken | 1 February 1963 |
Honors and awards | 4 × battle stars for World War II |
Fate | Transferred to Taiwan, renamed RCS Ta Han (ATF-542) |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Navajo-class fleet tug |
Displacement | 1,240 long tons (1,260 t) |
Length | 205 ft (62 m) |
Beam | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
Draft | 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
Complement | 85 |
Armament |
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USS Hopi (AT-71) was a Navajo-class fleet tug constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. [1] 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." During World War II she was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater where she participated in four campaigns earning four battle stars.
International radio call sign of USS Hopi (AT-71) [1] | |||
November | Uniform | Kilo | Whiskey |
Hopi was laid down 5 May 1942 by Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Charleston, South Carolina and launched on 7 September 1942. She was commissioned 31 March 1943. [1]
After shakedown training in Key West the Hopi left for New York and then was deployed with a convoy for North Africa on 10 June 1943 to join the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater.
Upon arrival she was tasked with performing towing services for several days before steaming to Bizerte to join Vice Admiral Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force for the assault on Sicily. Departing Bizerte 8 July with pontoons in tow, Hopi landed them 2 days later and immediately set to work clearing the beaches of damaged landing craft and fighting fires on vessels in the transport areas.
She returned to Bizerte 10 August to prepare for the Salerno operation. She sailed early in September and again performed salvage work. On 11 September, USS Savannah (CL-42), while lying-to in the support area awaiting calls for support, received a direct hit on No. 3 turret which left her dead in the water. Hopi and salvage tug Moreno immediately came alongside. Work by these two tugs allowed Savannah to return to Malta that under her own power. On 16 September, HMS Warspite took multiple hits from guided bombs. Hopi and Moreno were able to tow her to Malta without further incident.
USS Savannah (CL-42) was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class that served in World War II in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres of operation. Savannah conducted Neutrality Patrols (1941) and wartime patrols in the Atlantic and Caribbean (1942), and supported the invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch. She sought German-supporting blockade runners off the east coast of South America (1943), and supported the Allied landings on Sicily and at Salerno (1943). Off Salerno on 11 September 1943, a German radio-controlled Fritz X glide-bomb caused extensive casualties aboard and serious damage to Savannah, requiring emergency repairs in Malta and permanent repairs at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. After repairs and upgrades, she served in the task force that carried President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in early 1945.
The second USS Mayrant (DD-402) was a Benham-class destroyer in the United States Navy, the second ship named for John Mayrant. Commissioned shortly before World War II, she was primarily active in the Atlantic theater of the war, and was decommissioned after being used as a target in the Operation Crossroads atomic weapons tests.
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 Nauset (AT–89) was a Navajo class tug in the United States Navy
USS Seer (AM-112/MSF-112/MMC-5) was an Auk-class minesweeper of the United States Navy that served during World War II and the Korean War, and was sold to Norway in 1962.
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 Brant (AM-24) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named by the U.S. Navy for the brant, a small goose.
USS Cormorant (AM-40) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Redwing (AM-48) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War I. She was responsible for removing mines from harbors, and, in her role as rescue and salvage ship, she was responsible for coming to the aid of stricken vessels. She was laid down 5 August 1918 by the Baltimore Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Maryland; launched 7 June 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Fred A. Plagemann, wife of the prospective commanding officer; and commissioned 17 October 1919.
USS Carib (AT-82) was a Cherokee-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 Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
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 Moreno (AT-87) 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 Atlantic Ocean and, at war's end, returned home with three battle stars to her credit.
USS Narragansett (AT-88) 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 Atlantic Ocean and, at war’s end, returned home with three battle stars to her credit.
USS Pinto (AT-90) 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 Atlantic Ocean and, at war's end, returned home with three battle stars to her credit.
USS Tackle (ARS-37) was a Tackle-class rescue and salvage ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in North Atlantic waters, and returned home at war's end with two battle stars.
USS Kewaydin (AT-24) was an Bagaduce-class fleet tug laid down for the U.S. Navy in the closing days of World War I and continued in operation throughout World War II.
USS Extricate (ARS-16) was an Anchor-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.
USS Chippewa (AT-69) 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 Atlantic Ocean.
The third USS Kiowa (AT-72), later ATF-72, was a fleet tug, later fleet ocean tug, that served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1972.
USS Choctaw (AT-70) 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 Bermuda during the end of World War II where she was primarily responsible to aiding in the assembly of convoys and ships taking part in training. On 15 May 1944, she was redesignated ATF-70. She continued to serve for 3 more years before being decommissioned on 11 March 1947.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.