USS Umpqua (AT-25)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Umpqua.

USS Umpqua on the Cooper River, just outside of Charleston, on 3 August 1942
History
United States
Name	Umpqua
Namesake	Umpqua River in Oregon
Owner	United States Navy (1919–1946) United States Maritime Commission (1946)
Builder	Ferguson Steel and Iron Company
Cost	$550,000
Laid down	19 February 1919
Launched	18 September 1919
Commissioned	6 December 1919
Decommissioned	24 May 1946
In service	1919–1946
Reclassified	17 July 1920 (to AT-25) 15 May 1944 (to ATO-25)
Stricken	3 July 1946
Homeport	Charleston, South Carolina
Identification	Fleet Tug No. 25 (1919–1920) AT-25 (1920–1944) ATO-25 (1944–1946) Visual identifier: GJLH (1919–1932) IRCS call sign: NATS (1932–1946)
Honors & awards	American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal
Fate	Sold to Salmons Dredging Company on 4 December 1946
United States
Name	Umpqua
Namesake	Umpqua River in Oregon
Owner	Salmons Dredging Company (1946-Unknown)
Cost	$2,500
Acquired	4 December 1946
In service	1946–Unknown
General characteristics
Class & type	Bagaduce-class tugboat
Tonnage	Tons-per-inch immersion: 1,056
Displacement	998 long tons (1,014  t)
Length	156.67 ft (47.75 m) (overall) 144 ft (44 m) (at waterline)
Beam	30 ft (9.1 m)
Draft	15.67 ft (4.78 m)
Installed power	2 x triple-expansion steam engine 2 x Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers 2 x diesel-driven service generators
Propulsion	1 screw
Speed	12.8 knots (23.7 km/h; 14.7 mph)
Capacity	1,830  bbl (291 m3)
Complement	5 officers, 56 enlisted
Armament	2 x machine guns

USS Umpqua (AT-25) was a Bagaduce-class tugboat operated by the United States Navy from 1919 until 1946. She operated out of Charleston, South Carolina.

Construction

The construction of Umpqua was authorized to the Ferguson Steel and Iron Company on 4 March 1917, and the contract to build her was signed on 21 May 1918. ^[1] The tugboat was laid down on 19 February 1919 at Buffalo, New York, constructed by the Ferguson Steel and Iron Company. She was launched on 18 September and commissioned at Buffalo on 6 December. ^{[2] [3]} The contract price of her hull and machinery was a total of $550,000. ^[1]

Specifications

Umpqua had an overall length of 156.67 feet (47.75 m), ^[2] a waterline length of 144 feet (44 m), ^[4] a beam of 30 feet (9.1 m), and a draft of 15.67 feet (4.78 m). She had a maximum speed of 12.8 knots (23.7 km/h; 14.7 mph). She was powered by one vertical triple-expansion steam engine, fueled by two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers that produced 220 pounds per square inch (1,500,000  Pa ). She also had two diesel-driven service generators that produced 25 kilowatts of power. She was driven by a single propeller and produced 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW). ^[2]

Her fuel capacity was 1,830 barrels (291 m³), her largest boom capacity was 5 tons. She carried a compliment of 5 officers and 56 enlisted, and was armed with two machine guns. ^[2] Her displacement was 998 long tons (1,014  t ) and her her tons-per-inch immersion was 9 tons. ^[4]

Service history

Umpqua operated out of Charleston, South Carolina, servicing the Sixth Naval District. She primarily performed heavy-duty towing and tug operations for the Atlantic Fleet. During World War II, the tugboat's operations were expanded into the Gulf of Mexico. She towed patrol crafts, amphibious vessels, and pontoon barges. Umpqua also assisted merchant ships and vessels in distress. ^[3]

On 26 June 1941, Umpqua escorted the US Navy net tender Wapello to Cuba. The two ships arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 29 June. ^[5]

On 19 March 1942, Umpqua rescued 30 survivors from the American merchant ship Liberator, after she had been torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-332 roughly 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) west of the Diamond Shoals Light Buoy. ^[6] They were taken to Morehead City, North Carolina. ^[7]

Umpqua innspecting the stern of SS Esso Nashville on 21 March 1942

On 21 March, the tugboat arrived at the scene to salvage the stern of the American tanker Esso Nashville, which had been torpedoed by the German submarine U-124 that morning. Umpqua towed the tanker ^[8] until two tugboats from the Moran Towing Company arrived, ^[9] which took over and towed her to Morehead City on 26 March. ^[10]

On 23 March, she rescued a survivor clinging to the stern of the sinking American tanker Naeco. The tanker had been torpedoed by U-124 roughly 64 nautical miles (119 km; 74 mi) southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. ^[6] She also picked up four bodies, and carried them and the survivors to Morehead City. ^[11]

Throughout 1943, Umpqua accompanied the United States Coast Guard ship USCGC Tallapoosa as a target vessel on her nightly trips to a position south of St. John's Lightship. ^[12]

On 21 July 1944, Umpqua came to the aid of the submarine chaser PC-1505, which had broken down off the coast of Georgia. The tugboat relieved PC-1219 from the duty, and took PC-1505 in tow. Both vessels arrived at Charleston the next day. ^[13]

For her service in World War II, Umpqua was awarded the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. ^[2]

She was decommissioned at Charleston on 24 May 1946, and she was struck from the register of vessels on 3 July. Umpqua was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission for deposition on 4 December, ^[3] which sold her that same day to the Salmons Dredging Company of Charleston for $2,500. ^[2]

Classification

Umpqua was originally classified as Fleet Tug No. 25, but carried that classification for just under a year. On 17 July 1920, she was reclassified as an ocean-going tug (AT-25). ^[2] The tugboat was reclassified as an old ocean-going tug (ATO-25) on 15 May 1944. ^[3]

She was originally assigned the visual identifier GJLH, but this was changed to the IRCS call sign NATS in 1932. ^[2]

References

1. "Auxilaries—Fleet Tugs (AT)". Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels. Washington, Government Printing Office: Navy Department. 1 July 1920. pp. 276–277.
2. Priolo, Gary P. (7 March 2025). "USS Umpqua (ATO-25)". NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
3. "Umpqua". Naval Heritage and History Command. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
4. "Auxiliaries—Ocean Tugs, Old (ATO)". Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels: Auxiliary, District Craft and Unclassified Vessels. Vol. 3. 1946: United States Ships Bureau. 15 April 1945. p. 412. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
5. Cressman, Robert J. (26 October 2015). "Wapello". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
6. Helgason, Guðmundur. "USS Umpqua (AT 25)". uboat.net. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
7. Browning, Robert M. (1996). U.S. Merchant Vessel War Casualties of World War II. Naval Institute Press. p. 52. ISBN   9781557500878.
8. "Esso Nashville". monitor.noaa.gov. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
9. Willoz-Egnor, Jeanne (13 July 2018). "Half a ship is better than none!". The Mariner's Museum and Park. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
10. "A Ship Reborn". Ships of the Esso Fleet in World War II. Standard Oil Company (New Jersey). 1946. pp. 160–170.
11. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Naeco". uboat.net. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
12. Jewell, Lerry; Patrick, Clancey. "Transports and Escorts, Volume I: Escorts". ibiblio.org. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
13. Cressman, Robert J. (2016). "1944". The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute Press. p. 72. ISBN   9781682471548.

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

Further reading

• Browning, Robert M. (1996). U.S. Merchant Vessel War Casualties of World War II. Naval Institute Press. pp. 52–55. ISBN   978-1-55750-087-8.