USS ''ATA-215'' was an of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

built near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Originally

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

as ''Paloverde'' (YN-86), a net tender of the , she was redesignated as AN-65, a

net layer A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

, before launch. Before completion, the name ''Paloverde'' was cancelled and the ship was named ''ATA-215'', an unnamed auxiliary ocean tug. Post-war she was assigned to the

Finn Ronne Finn Ronne (December 20, 1899 – January 12, 1980) was a Norwegian-born U.S. citizen and Antarctic explorer. Background Finn Ronne was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. His father, Martin Rønne (1861–1932), was a polar explorer w ...

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

Expedition where she became stuck in the ice for 12 months before returning to the

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for decommissioning.

Career

''Paloverde'', originally designated ''YN–86'', was laid down on 19 July 1943 as ''AN–65'' by Snow Shipyards, Inc., Rockland, Maine; renamed and redesignated ''ATA–215'' on 12 August 1944; launched 2 September 1944; sponsored by Miss Patricia Adams; and placed in service 17 December 1944. ''ATA–215'' was assigned to

Service Squadron A Service Squadron (ServRon) was a United States Navy squadron that supported fleet combat ships and US Navy Auxiliary ships. Service Squadrons were used by the US Navy from their inception in 1943 to as late as the early 1980s. At the time of th ...

2, U.S. Pacific Fleet. She proceeded to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, where she arrived 2 January 1945. Then, getting underway for the U.S. West Coast, she transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

19–20 February and arrived

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, 19 March. She proceeded to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

on a towing assignment, arriving 26 March. She remained at Pearl Harbor until departing for

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

11 May, and arrived at

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18 June. On 28 June she proceeded back across the Pacific via Eniwetok for Pearl Harbor. In Pearl Harbor after the war, she was designated for disposal in March 1946. Later in 1946, Congressional action provided ''ATA–215'' to the

Antarctic Expedition on a loan basis. On 25 January 1947 Edith Ronne rechristened ''ATA-215'' the ''Port of Beaumont'', and the ship shoved off with 21 explorers for the

. She returned to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

15 months later after spending 12 months frozen in the ice pack of

Marguerite Bay Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on th ...

on the

Palmer Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. She was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

December 1948 and was sold by the Navy 8 February 1949.

References

*
NavSource Online: YN-86 / AN-65 Palo Verde - ATA-215
{{DEFAULTSORT:ATA-215 ATA-214-class tugs Ships built in Rockland, Maine 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States