USS Navajo (AT-64)
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Navajo |
Namesake | Navajo Nation |
Builder | Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York City |
Laid down | 12 December 1938 |
Launched | 17 August 1939 |
Commissioned | 26 January 1940 |
Honors and awards | 2 battle stars (World War II) |
Fate | Sunk, 12 September 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | fleet tug |
Displacement | 1,270 long tons (1,290 t) |
Length | 205 ft (62 m) |
Beam | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
Draft | 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m) |
Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 80 |
Armament | 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun |
USS Navajo (AT-64) was an oceangoing
Navajo was laid down by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Staten Island, New York, on 12 December 1938; launched on 17 August 1939, sponsored by Miss Olive Rasmussen; and commissioned on 26 January 1940. The tug was sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1943.[1]
Operations in Hawaiian waters
Following shakedown and a brief tour on the east coast, Navajo, an oceangoing fleet tug, steamed to
Further operations in the Pacific Theater
In late April 1942, Navajo sailed to
On January 30, 1943, Navajo attempted to tow the badly damaged heavy cruiser USS Chicago away from the combat zone during the Battle of Rennell Island, but was unsuccessful as Chicago was finished off by a squadron of Japanese torpedo bombers. She then towed to safety the destroyer USS La Vallette, who had suffered a torpedo hit during the battle.
Stateside overhaul
In the spring of 1943, Navajo returned to California, underwent overhaul, and in July 1943 got underway to return to the South Pacific. Steaming via Pago Pago, she arrived at Bora Bora on 21 August 1943 and commenced salvage and repair work on USS Pasig. At the end of the month, the ship sailed for Pago Pago, whence she got underway to tow gasoline barge YOG–42 to Espiritu Santo.[1]
Sunk by torpedo
While en route to Espiritu Santo on 12 September 1943, the ship was torpedoed by Type B1 submarine I-39 and rocked by an explosion. Within seconds, a heavy starboard list resulted in a submerged starboard side. Navajo began going down rapidly by the bow and the order was given to abandon ship. As the ship settled, depth charges secured to port and starboard K-gun projectors exploded. An estimated two minutes had passed before the tug sank. 17 members of her crew died during the attack.[1]
Awards
Footnotes
- ^ NavSource does not cite a source.
References
- ^ "Chester II (CL-27)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. April 26, 2017.
- ^ Priolo, Gary P. (11 June 2021). "USS Navajo (AT-64)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940–1945 ATF-64 USS Navajo
- USS Navajo (AT 64) at uboat.net
- Navajo class at uboat.net
- Vessels/Auxiliaries: USS Navajo from the United States Naval Institute Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- "7 December 1941" – Ships in Pearl Harbor Archived 10 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine