USS Mahopac (ATA-196)

Last updated
Mahopac (ATA-196).jpg
USS Mahopac (ATA-196)
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
Name
  • ATA-196
  • USS Mahopac (ATA-196) (16 July 1948)
Namesake Lake Mahopac
BuilderLevingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX
Laid down24 November 1944
Launched21 December 1944
Commissioned6 March 1945
ReclassifiedAuxiliary Fleet Tug ATA-196, 15 May 1944
Stricken15 April 1976
FateSold to Taiwan under the Security Assistance Program (SAP), 1 May 1976
History
Flag of the Republic of China.svgTaiwan
NameTa Peng (ATA-549)
Acquired1 May 1976
Stricken1991
FateExpended as missile target, 1993. [1]
General characteristics
Class and type Sotoyomo-class fleet tug auxiliary fleet tug
Displacement534 t.(lt) 835 t.(fl)
Length143 ft (44 m)
Beam33 ft (10 m)
Draft13 ft (4.0 m)
PropulsionDiesel-electric engines, single screw
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement45
ArmamentOne single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount and two single 20 mm AA guns. [2]

USS Mahopac (ATA-196) was a U.S. Navy Sotoyomo class auxiliary fleet tug laid down on 24 November 1944 and launched 21 December 1944. She served briefly in the Pacific Theater at the end of World War II, followed by extended assignments in Alaska and Japan. Between 1965 and 1969 she made periodic tours off the coast of Vietnam in support of 7th Fleet operations there during the Vietnam War.

Contents

Mahopac was sold to Taiwan in 1976 under the Security Assistance Program (SAP). She was expended as missile target in 1993. [1]

History

The vessel's planned designation was ATR-123, reflecting her intended role as a Rescue Ocean Tug, but was re-designated as Auxiliary Ocean Tug ATA-196 on May 14, 1944, before construction had started. [2] Upon completion of shakedown and underway training, ATA‑196 departed for the Pacific. From May through November 1945 she participated in towing operations in the central and western Pacific. She then proceeded to the north Pacific for towing and search air rescue duties with the Alaskan Sea frontier. While serving in that area, she was named Mahopac 16 July 1948, after Lake Mahopac, New York.

The tug remained under the operational control of the commanding officer, U.S. Naval Station Kodiak Island, Alaska, until May 1957. On 13 May, Mahopac departed Kodiak for Astoria, Oregon, for inactivation. En route she received new orders canceling inactivation and changing her homeport to Yokosuka, Japan, effective 1 July 1957.

Mahopac departed San Francisco for the western Pacific 22 July 1957 with barges in tow. Transferring the barges at Eniwetok atoll 28 August, she continued on to Yokosuka, arriving 7 September. She then performed towing and drone operations for the Fleet Training Group. Through 1964, her duties took her as far as Subic Bay in the Philippines; her 1965 to 1969 assignments extended her cruises to include periodic tours off the coast of Vietnam in support of 7th Fleet operations there. In May 1967, she participated in the rescue of SS Minot Victory which had run aground on a coral reef.

Fate

On 1 May 1976 she was sold to Taiwan under the Security Assistance Program (SAP) and renamed Ta Peng (ATA-549). She was expended as missile target in 1993. [1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Roberts, Stephen S (June 5, 2011). "Class: ATA-174 (later WATEREE)". www.shipscribe.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Priolo, Gary P. "USS Mahopac (ATA-196) ex USS ATA-196 (1945 - 1948)". www.navsource.org. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved January 2, 2017.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Abnaki</i> US Navy fleet ocean tug in service 1943-1978

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 <i>Salish</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Salish (ATA-187) was a Sotoyomo-class rescue tug of the US Navy. Her hull was laid down on 29 August 1944. She left US service on 10 February 1972 and was recommissioned in the Argentine Navy on the same day as the ARA Alférez Sobral (A-9).

USS <i>Quapaw</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

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 (ATR-138/ATA-211) was an auxiliary ocean tug in the United States Navy.

USS Keosanqua (ATA-198) was a Maricopa-class auxiliary fleet tug of the United States Navy. The ship was authorized as Rescue Ocean Tug ATR-125, and redesignated Auxiliary Fleet Tug USS ATA-198 on 15 May 1944. The ship was laid down at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Texas, launched on 17 January 1945, and commissioned on 19 March 1945. She was named Keosanqua (ATA-198) on 16 July 1948.

USS Tekesta (AT-93) was Navajo-class fleet tug built during World War II for the United States Navy. Shortly after being built, it was crewed by trained Navy personnel and sent into the Pacific Ocean to provide tug service to damaged ships in battle areas. For successfully performing this dangerous work, she was awarded four battle stars by the war's end.

USS <i>Tawasa</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Tawasa (AT-92) 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 Pacific Ocean and had a very successful career marked by the winning of three battle stars during World War II, two during the Korean War, and seven campaign stars during the Vietnam War.

USS <i>Tunica</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Tunica (ATA-178) was a Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug acquired by the United States Navy for service during and after World War II.

USS ATA-176 was an ATR-1-class rescue tug built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was laid down on 30 January 1944 and launched on 1 March as USS ATR-103, but was re-designated ATA-176 on 15 May. She was commissioned as USS ATA-176 on 19 August. She served in the U.S. Pacific Fleet during the war and was decommissioned on 30 June 1947. She was then manned with a civilian crew and placed in service, being renamed USNS Tonkawa (T-ATA-176) on 16 July 1948. Tonkawa, the first U.S. Navy vessel named for the Tonkawa, was taken out of service in 1956 and placed in reserve.

USS Wateree (ATA-174), the third ship named USS Wateree, was a Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. She later served with the Military Sea Transportation Service and the Peruvian Navy as a diving support ship. In Peruvian naval service she was renamed BAP Unanue (ATA-136).

USS <i>Koka</i> (ATA-185) Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Koka (ATA-185) was a US Navy tugboat. Koka is from the phonetic spelling of Coca, formerly an Indian village in southern Arizona. Originally designated as ATR-112, she was redesignated as ATA-185 on 15 May 1944; launched 11 September 1944, by Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Texas; and commissioned on 16 November.

USS Penobscot (ATA-188/ATR–115) -- a Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug—was originally placed in service by the U.S. Navy as USS ATA–188 until she was renamed USS Penobscot (ATA-188) 16 July 1948. She served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, and on the U.S. East Coast after the war’s end. She was finally decommissioned in 1971.

USS <i>Wandank</i> (ATA-204) Tugboat of the United States Navy

The second USS Wandank (ATA-204), originally USS ATA-204, was a United States Navy auxiliary ocean tug in commission from 1945 to 1947 and again from 1952 to 1971. The ship is possibly best known for supporting scientific operations in the Marianas, in particular serving as communication relay and support ship for the bathyscaphe Trieste in Project Nekton; she towed the bathyscaphe some 260 nautical miles from Guam to the vicinity of the Challenger Deep, where, on 23 January 1960, Trieste descended to a record 10,911 metres.

USS <i>Apache</i> (ATF-67) Tugboat of the United States Navy

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.

USS <i>Tillamook</i> (ATA-192) Tugboat of the United States Navy

The third USS Tillamook (ATA-192), originally USS ATA-192, a United States Navy tug in service from 1945 to 1971.

USS Sonoma (ATA-175) was a tugboat of the United States Navy, which served during World War II. She was the third Navy ship to bear the name "Sonoma", which is of American-Indian origin, in accordance with the Navy's naming convention for tugs.

USS <i>Samoset</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

ATA-190, originally projected as ATR-117, was laid down on 29 September 1944 by the Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Texas; launched on 26 October 1944; and commissioned on 1 January 1945.

The second USS Undaunted was laid down as rescue tug ATR-126 on 27 November 1943 at Port Arthur, Texas, by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works; reclassified auxiliary ocean tug ATA-199 on 15 May 1944; launched on 22 August 1944; and commissioned on 20 October 1944.

USS <i>Pinola</i> (ATA-206) Tugboat of the United States Navy

The USS Pinola (ATA-206) was a Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug launched in 1945 and serving until 1956. The ship was transferred to the Republic of Korea in 1962.

USS <i>Moctobi</i> Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug in the US Navy

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.

References