The ''Cherokee'' class of
fleet tugboats, originally known as the ''Navajo'' class, were built for the
United States Navy prior to the start of
World War II.
They represented a radical departure from previous ocean-going tug designs, and were far more capable of extended open ocean travel than their predecessors. This was due in large part to their length of , beam, and substantial fuel-carrying capacity. They were also the first large surface vessels in the United States Navy to be equipped with
Diesel-electric drive.
[
The first three vessels, , and , were constructed from 1938 to 1940 at the ]Bethlehem Staten Island
USS ''Bache'', Bethlehem Staten Island first Fletcher-class destroyer built in 1942
Bethlehem Staten Island also called Bethlehem Mariners Harbor was a large shipyard in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. The shipyard started building s ...
division of Bethlehem Steel. ''Navajo'' and ''Seminole'' joined the Pacific fleet in 1940, and ''Cherokee'' went to the Atlantic fleet. ''Navajo'' was en route to San Diego from Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and immediately reversed course to Pearl Harbor once news broke of the Japanese attack. She became a critical element of salvage operations there, as did her sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
''Seminole'', in the days following the attack.
Following the loss during World War II of the first two ships of the class, ''Navajo'' and ''Seminole'', the class was renamed from its original pre-war name of ''Navajo'' class to ''Cherokee'' class, the name of the third ship laid in 1939, which still survived.
Ships
(*)Note: The reason for the gap in numbering from AT-95 to AT-153 is unknown.
See also
*
* Type V ship – Tugs
* List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navajo class fleet tug
Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy
Auxiliary tugboat classes