USS ''Pawtucket'' (Harbor Tug No. 7/YT-7/YTM-7), was a district harbor tug serving in 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 ...

in the early 20th century, during both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

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 opposing ...

. This was the first of two US Navy namesakes of the city of Pawtucket,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, and the Native American tribe bearing the same name.

Service history

''Pawtucket'' was ordered on 3 March 1897, laid down at

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on 22 July 1898, and launched on 17 November 1898, christened by five year old Heather Baxter, daughter of Naval Constructor W. J. Baxter. The 19th century designation "Harbor Tug No.7" was officially replaced with "YT-7" (District harbor tug) on 17 July 1920. ''Pawtucket''s entire career was spent on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast, active in the

13th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

, the

Puget Sound Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

being her permanent base for more than thirty years. During World War II she was armed with a single 20 mm gun and served as a patrol craft and minesweeper in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

area, with an increased complement of 16. ''Pawtucket'' was redesignated "YTM-7" on 15 May 1944. At the war's end, ''Pawtucket'' was declared surplus, placed out of service on 13 December 1946, and transferred to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

. She was then sold to the Northeast Merchandising Service, which operated her briefly in Puget Sound before scrapping her in 1947.

Personnel

* Robert Witcher Copeland ( CO, 1940s)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pawtucket Ships built in Vallejo, California World War II auxiliary ships of the United States 1898 ships Tugs of the United States Navy