USS Choctaw (AT-70)
USS Choctaw (ATF-70) underway, date and location unknown.
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Choctaw |
Namesake | Choctaw |
Builder | Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. |
Laid down | 4 April 1942 |
Launched | 18 October 1942 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. L. Cordell |
Commissioned | 21 April 1943 |
Decommissioned | 11 March 1947 |
Reclassified | Fleet ocean tug 15 May 1944 |
Stricken | 31 October 1977 |
Identification |
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Fate | Transferred, to Security Assistance Program 1 March 1978, renamed ARC Pedro De Heredia (RM-72) |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | 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 Choctaw (AT-70) was a
Description
International radio call sign of USS Choctaw (AT-70)[1] | |||
November | Uniform | Juliet | Tango |
Choctaw was laid down 4 April 1942 by Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Charleston, South Carolina and launched on 18 October 1942. She was commissioned 21 April 1943.[1]
From 17 June 1943 to 8 May 1944, Choctaw served at Bermuda, where she aided assembling convoys and new ships undergoing training with tug and target-towing services. Putting to sea 8 May, she was reclassified ATF-70, 15 May, and reached Oran 19 May to take USS Holder (DE-401) in tow for New York City, where she delivered her tow 9 June. She returned to her duties at Bermuda until 22 July, when she sailed for ports in Wales to take two LSTs in tow for New York, arriving 30 September.
After overhaul at Norfolk, Virginia, Choctaw sailed for tug duty at St. John's and Argentia, Newfoundland, between 20 November 1944 and 8 December, when she sailed to rendezvous with USS Huron. She took the collision-damaged ship in tow for Bermuda and Charleston, and returned to Newfoundland for service between 3 January 1945 and 14 March. She then operated off the east coast and in the Caribbean on salvage duty and in towing targets until 15 October 1946. Afterwards, she sailed to Orange, Texas to be placed out of commission, and in reserve, on 11 March 1947. She would remain there for three decades.
After being laid up in the
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Choctaw (AF-70/ATF-70) at NavSource Naval History