My time on a WWII Tugboat, the USS Commanche... History

[83turbomon]

a few days ago, i went to visit my friend who is volunteering on the USS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wampanoag_(ATA-202)) commanche tugboat (helping to restore it) which was in service in Late WWII in Japan. it was one of the largest i believe ocean going tugboats in existance at the time. the firehose during WWII was actually a gun nest for a machine gun. After its service in WWII it was used to aide in patrolling the waters of alaska and hawaii fighting any Russian activity and serving as a service vehicle of the pacific. With its dual v-12 diesel engines, that are 278ci per cylinder, it had a maximum speed of 10 knots, with its 30,000+ gallon fuel tank, (believe it or not, it actually had decent mpgs, like 5gph idling) after being mothballed, it was picked up by a private owner (i believe) who is currently restoring it. my friend fresh from technical college is volunteering working on the tug tearing up the old floors for replacement, and has turned into a regular ol pirate. the boat is moored in the Thea Foss waterway in picturese tacoma and is open for tours and donations.

My friend loves working on the boat, and is gaining wonderfull free experience. Hes sleeping aboard the boat on the weekends, and let me tell you, in our weather, hes brave, because its been white capping latley. I was on the boat for 5 minutes, and motion sickness was setting in. it was pretty dangerous moving around the boat, but none the less fun, and full of history. A massive engine, an 11 foot rudder, probellers the size of a small ferris wheel, and the smell of diesel, oil, and salt, aaaahh the life of a sailor

PS: my head was swimming for about 14 hours, after being onboard for 3 and a half days, and when he stepped off, he lost his balance and got motion sickness...

heres some pics

 

[83turbomon]

Some more pics, better pics can be seen on wikipedia during its service.

 

[TurboDave]

Great story! I'm always looking for historic naval info. I used your pictures and story for reference and went on to Google Earth (where I have hundreds of historic ships marked), and actually found the tug, and marked it.

But how is it known? Commanche or Wampanoag
and has it always been designated ATA 202?

 

[87GN_ponykillr]

Cool! Looks like you had a good time Its always neat to check out old ships. They have so much history to them that it's hard to put in perspective when your just walking around it on a nice sunny day. Those boats have seen many a dark days during the war. It seems like maritime history is under appreciated in today's society. I always like checking the ships out when they come to the Baltimore harbor.

 

[83turbomon]

Great story! I'm always looking for historic naval info. I used your pictures and story for reference and went on to Google Earth (where I have hundreds of historic ships marked), and actually found the tug, and marked it.

But how is it known? Commanche or Wampanoag
and has it always been designated ATA 202?

i believe that its commanche, but the info says Wampanoag, one thing i will say is Heave ho, which is was really going through my head. For such a large heavy boat, it really got pushed around by the waves. i may have some more pics ill post.

 

[TurboDave]

Here's all the data I was able to dig up on ATA-202

USS Wampanoag (ATA-202)

Keel laid---Aug 1944 Port Arthur TX
Launched---Oct 1944
Commissioned---Dec 1944
De-Commissioned---Feb 1947


Class: ATA-170-class tug

Named for: The Wampanoag

Complement: 45 Officers and Enlisted

Displacement: 610 tons

Length: 143 feet 0 inches

Beam: 33 feet 10 inches

Flank Speed: 13 knots

Final Disposition: Loaned to United States Coast Guard 25 February 1959.Became USCGC Comanche (WATA-202) later WMEC-202 medium endurance cutter.








The only reference to a tug named Cherokee that I could find was for USS Cherokee (ATF-66)

I can find no pix of Cherokee, but found one of the Kiowa which is the same ATF class. I cant tell from your pix if there's any similarities. But as I stated ATA202 was the Wampanoag only

 

[TurboDave]

Here's a picture of ATA-196, same class as ATA-202. You can see it's different from the ATF class pictured above.

ATA's are definately larger, with a higher freeboard forward.

 

[83turbomon]

Here's a picture of ATA-196, same class as ATA-202. You can see it's different from the ATF class pictured above.

ATA's are definately larger, with a higher freeboard forward.

all i know is motion sickness, you said you found that tug on google earth? on shuscter parkway, there are 2 naval ships side by side, that you may be able to find. they are right down the street from the tug, can you tell me about those?? they just kinda sit there.


Oh and BTW, in commencment bay, there are 2 submarines submerged i heard, urban legend or true i dont know. I know bermerton has several submarines thought.

 

[TurboDave]

all i know is motion sickness, you said you found that tug on google earth? on shuscter parkway, there are 2 naval ships side by side, that you may be able to find. they are right down the street from the tug, can you tell me about those?? they just kinda sit there.

Are you talking about in the Thea Foss waterway? I didn't see any other ships in there. Just a ton of small boat marinas.

 

[TurboDave]

I think I just found what you're refering to. There's a couple of large ships further out in the bay.
They are a couple of USNS RORO (roll on roll off) ships. Usually in temporary lay up until needed.