USS Arapaho (ATF-68)

History
United States
Name	USS Arapaho
Namesake	Arapaho
Builder	Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Charleston, South Carolina
Laid down	8 November 1941
Launched	22 June 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Alice Posey Hatcher
Commissioned	20 January 1943
Decommissioned	15 January 1947
Stricken	10 July 1961
Identification	AT-68 (1943–1944); ATF-68 (1944–1961);
Honours and; awards	Four battle stars during World War II
Fate	Transferred to the Argentine Navy, 1961
Argentina
Name	ARA Comandante General Zapiola
Acquired	1961
Fate	Wrecked 10 January 1976
General characteristics
Type	fleet ocean tug
Tonnage	1,235 tons
Displacement	1,674 tons
Length	205 ft 0 in (62.5 m)
Beam	38 ft 6 in (11.7 m)
Draft	15 ft 4 in (4.7 m)
Propulsion	diesel-electric, 4 × General Motors 12-278A diesel main engines ; 4 × General Electric generators ; 3 × General Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines; 1 × screw, 3,600 shp (2,700 kW);
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement	85
Armament	1 × single gun mount; 2 × twin 40 mm AA gun mounts; 2 × single 20 mm AA gun mounts;

USS Arapaho (AT-68/ATF-68) was a

battle stars

to their credit.

US Navy career

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Arapaho (AT-68) was laid down on 8 November 1941 at Charleston, South Carolina, by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry-dock Company; launched on 22 June 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Alice Posey Hatcher; and commissioned on 20 January 1943.

World War II service

International radio call sign of *USS Arapaho* (ATF-68)**

November	Uniform	Delta	Bravo

East coast operations

The tug conducted her

Almaack (AKA-10) in tow for the voyage back to the United States. She and her charge arrived back in Norfolk, Virginia

, on 20 May.

In mid-June, the tug moved south to search the

San Diego, California

, where she arrived on 15 July.

Pacific Ocean operations

For the next three months, the tug conducted towing and salvage operations, first along the

antisubmarine guard ship at recently captured Tarawa

Atoll.

On 4 December, Arapaho embarked 12 civilians who had been liberated from a

internment camp on Makin and set sail—via Funafuti—for Pearl Harbor. From Funafuti, the tug steamed in company with aircraft carrier Independence (CVL-22), severely damaged in the Gilbert Islands operation by an aerial torpedo

. The ships arrived at Pearl Harbor on 18 December.

Arapaho underwent repairs until near the end of the first week in January 1944. On 6 January, she headed back to the

Eniwetok where she engaged in harbor duty and salvage work. On 3 July, Arapaho set a course for Pearl Harbor, which she reached on the 9th to begin a month of repairs. She returned to Eniwetok on 26 August and, except for a round-trip voyage to Guam

, operated there until the second week in October.

Ulithi operations

At that time, she put to sea towing auxiliary repair dock ARD-15 and covered lighter (self-propelled) YF-786 to Ulithi, Service Squadron (ServRon) 10's new advanced base, and, following her arrival at that atoll, worked in and out of its lagoon engaged in harbor and salvage duties.

Between 4 and 10 November, she assisted

Palau Islands. After towing LST-278 to Guam

in January 1945, Arapaho returned to Ulithi on the 23d and began a major overhaul of her main propulsion plant. The ship completed repairs and returned to active duty on 18 March.

Okinawa operations

She operated out of Ulithi until mid-June when she moved to Guam. From there, the tug headed for

Okinawa

until after the end of hostilities in mid-August. Late that month, she voyaged back to Guam to pick up ARD-21 for tow to Okinawa. She returned to Kerama Retto with her charge on 7 September and resumed local towing duty.

End-of-war decommissioning

That assignment continued until 9 November 1945 when she began the long journey back to the

Navy list

.

Honors and awards

Arapaho (ATF-68) earned four

battle stars during World War II

.

Argentine Navy career

On 10 July 1961, she was transferred to the Argentine Navy, which commissioned her that same day as ARA Comandante General Zapiola. The tug remained active with the Argentine Navy until 10 January 1976 when she ran aground on an Antarctic reef and was declared a total loss. Her crew was rescued by the Chilean patrol boat Piloto Pardo.^[1]

Notes

^ USS Arapaho (ATF-68) NavSource Online

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USS Arapaho (ATF-68) – ex USS Arapaho (AT-68) (1943 - 1944)

External links

"Aviso A.R.A. "Comandante General Zapiola" A-2". Histarmar - Historia y Arqueología Marítima (in Spanish). Argentina: Fundación Histarmar. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

[1] USS Arapaho (ATF-68) NavSource Online

[1]