Bow view of the raised USS Wenonah | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Wenonah |
Builder | Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, New York |
Laid down | date unknown |
Completed | during the winter of 1940 and 1941 |
Commissioned | June 1941 as Wenonah (YT-148) |
Decommissioned | 1974 |
Reclassified | YTB-148, 15 May 1944 - YTM-148, in February 1962 |
Stricken | April 1974 |
Homeport | San Diego, California |
Identification | IMO number: 8424604 |
Fate | Scrapped in 2010 by Bay Yacht (Alameda). |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Woban-class district harbor tugboat |
Tonnage | 218 tons |
Displacement | 325 tons |
Length | 100 ft (30 m) |
Beam | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
Draft | 11 ft (3.4 m) (max.) |
Propulsion | diesel engine, single screw |
Speed | 12 knots |
Complement | 12 officers and enlisted |
Armament | not known |
USS Wenonah (YT-148/YTB-148/YTM-148) was a Woban-class district harbor tug which served during World War II in California ports, and continued her service until she was struck by the Navy in 1974. On 17 August 2009, the Wenonah sank while berthed at Treasure Island, CA, and was raised by the floating crane Left Coast Lifter on 28 August 2009. [1]
Wenonah (YT-148) -- a harbor tug constructed during the winter of 1940 and 1941 at Morris Heights, New York, by the Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp. -- was placed in service soon after her completion in June 1941.
Wenonah served in the 11th Naval District throughout her entire Navy career. She was initially based at San Diego, California; but, during her 33 years of service, she also operated at and visited various other ports on the California coast.
On 15 May 1944, she was redesignated a large harbor tug with the hull designation, YTB-148. Some 18 years later, she again changed designation and became YTM-148, a medium harbor tug.
In April 1974, she concluded her long career and went out of service. Her name was struck from the Navy list, and she was sold for scrapping. The identity of her purchaser is unrecorded, but sources say that the tug was owned by the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society (HTERS). [2] Wenonah was laid up at Pier 1 at Treasure Island, California, and sank in August 2009, spilling oil into San Francisco Bay. [3] [4] The Coast Guard contracted Global Diving to recover the vessel to prevent further leaks, and Global Diving turned to the American Bridge/Fluor Joint Venture for use of the Left Coast Lifter sheerleg crane to recover the vessel. [5] Wenonah was turned over to the Coast Guard for disposal, and Bay Ship & Yacht in Alameda assumed the lease of Pier 1 in Treasure Island, which included taking possession of Wenonah and a sister tug owned by HTERS, USS Nokomis. Both vessels were scrapped in 2010 in Alameda. [6]
USS Pocahontas (YT/YTB/YTM-266), was a type V2-ME-A1 harbor tug that entered service in the United States Navy in 1943, and was sold in 1976. She was the third ship to bear the name Pocahontas.
Hoga (YT-146/YTB-146/YTM-146) is a United States Navy Woban-class district harbor tug named after the Sioux Indian word for "fish." After World War II, the tug was known as Port of Oakland and then City of Oakland when she was a fireboat in Oakland, California.
USS Challenge (SP-1015/AT-59/YT-126/YTM-126) was a commercial tugboat acquired by the United States Navy for service in World War I, and remained available for duty during World War II.
USS Awatobi (YTB-264) was a harbor tugboat acquired by the United States Navy during the close of World War II. She was outfitted with two .50-caliber machine guns and assigned to the San Francisco Bay area where she provided tug services, and other harbor services as required.
USS Nokomis (YT-142/YTB-142/YTM-142) was a Woban-class harbor tug built in Bremerton, Wash, and assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1940. Nokomis was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. She was the first vessel on scene at the USS Arizona, and was called off by the officers on deck because of the imminent explosion of the battery below deck. It then left and helped beach the USS Nevada, with Hoga (YT-146), and YT-153. The beaching of the Nevada saved Pearl Harbor's mouth from being blocked. After that the USS Nokomis fought fires and dewatered the battleship USS California, for 3 days. This effort made the California salvageable, to be recommissioned again later in the war. Nokomis was also the last vessel to move the surviving YC-699 barge prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Post-war she continued serving Pearl Harbor ships until she was decommissioned in May 1973, and eventually sold for "scrap" to Crowley, in San Francisco. She was renamed Sea Serpent and served many years in the San Francisco Bay as a tug and fire boat. In 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake in the SF Bay area, Nokomis and Hoga fought fires alongside each other again.
USS Penobscot (SP-982/YT-42/YTB-42) was a commercial harbor tugboat purchased by the U.S. Navy at the start of World War I. Penobscot performed her towing services for the 5th Naval District on the U.S. East Coast, and continued to do so for the 3rd Naval District through the end of World War II. She was finally retired from Navy service in 1947.
USS Acoma (YTB-701/YTM-701) was a Hisada-class district harbor tug built during the end of World War II. She was placed into reserve until 1962, when she was released to the 1st Naval District, where she served as a tugboat for the next 40 years before being disposed of, as excess to Navy needs.
USS Kittaton was a Sassaba-class district harbor tug that served the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean, often in the Japan and Philippine Islands area and was eventually struck from the Navy list at an unspecified date.
USS Tensaw (YT-418/YTB-418/YTM-418) was a Sassaba-class district harbor tug that served the United States Navy at the end of World War II. She remained in the Pacific Ocean to support the U.S. Pacific Fleet during the Korean War, and continued to serve until she was struck in 1967.
The third USS Osceola (YT-129), previously USS YT-129, later YTB-129, later YTM-129, was a United States Navy harbor tug commissioned in 1938 and sold for scrapping in 1973.
USS Wampatuck (YT-337) later YTB-337 was United States Navy harbor tug in commission from 1942 to 1946.
USS Waneta (YT-384), later YTB-384, later YTM-384, was a United States Navy harbor tug in commission from 1944 to 1946 and from 1953 to 1974.
USS Hiawatha (YT-265), later YTB-265, later YTM-265, was a type V2-ME-A1 harbor tug that entered service in the United States Navy in 1942, and was sold in 1987. She was the third ship to bear the name Hiawatha.
USS Oneyana (YTB-262) was a U.S. Navy tugboat laid down as YT–262, 20 June 1943 at J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma, Washington launched 27 March 1944; reclassified YTB 262, 15 May 1944: and placed in service 23 August 1944.
Iona (YT/YTB/YTM-220), a wooden tugboat originally classified YT-220, was launched by Greenport Basin and Construction Company, Greenport, New York, 26 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Martina E. Swanson; and placed in service 2 February 1945. She was the second United States Navy ship of that name.
USS Wingina (YTB-395) is a tugboat that was laid down as District Harbor Tug YT-395. She was re-classified while still under construction as District Harbor Tug, Large YTB-395. After her commissioning, she served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1980.
The Type V ship is a United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) designation for World War II tugboats. Type V was used in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Type V ships were used to move ships and barges. Type V tugboats were made of either steel or wood hulls. There were four types of tugboats ordered for World War II. The largest type V design was the sea worthy 186-foot (57 m) long steel hull, V4-M-A1. The V4-M-A1 design was used by a number of manufacturers; a total of 49 were built. A smaller steel hull tugboat was the 94-foot (29 m) V2-ME-A1; 26 were built. The largest wooden hull was the 148-foot (45 m) V3-S-AH2, of which 14 were built. The smaller wooden hull was the 58-foot (18 m) V2-M-AL1, which 35 were built. Most V2-M-AL1 tugboats were sent to the United Kingdom for the war efforts under the lend-lease act. The Type V tugs served across the globe during World War II including: Pacific War, European theatre, and in the United States. SS Farallon, and other Type V tugs, were used to help built Normandy ports, including Mulberry harbour, on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and made nine round trips to Normandy to deliver Phoenix breakwaters.
Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company was established in 1942 to build ships needed for World War II. Yard construction began on 1 March 1942. As part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program, the US Navy provided some of the capital to start Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding at Port Gardner Bay in Everett, Washington. Everett-Pacific was sold in 1945 to the Pacific Car and Foundry, who was already a major manufacturer of railcars and trucks. Pacific Car and Foundry was building barges for the US Navy during World War II at plants in Renton, Seattle and Tacoma in the state of Washington. The lease for the shipyard in Everett, Washington ended in 1949 and the yard closed. Pacific Car and Foundry in 1972 changed its name to Paccar Inc. to reflect its major products. The Everett-Pacific shipyard site later became part of Western Gear, a heavy machinery manufacturer. From 1987 to 1992, the shipyard was rebuilt to become part of Naval Station Everett. Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding was started by William Pigott Jr. a Seattle businessmen and his brother Paul Pigott (1900-1961). William Pigott Jr. was born in 26 Aug. 1895 in Pueblo, CO and died on 8 July 1947 in San Francisco, CA.
The Pacific Coast Engineering Company or PACECO Corp. is an American industrial fabricator and mechanical engineering company headquartered in Haywood, California. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui E&S.