The second USS ''Wando'' (Tug No. 17), later YT-17, later YT-123, later YTB-123, was a United States Navy

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

in commission from 1917 to 1946.

Construction and commissioning

''Wando'' (Tug No. 17) was laid down on 14 June 1915 by the

Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

. Launched on 7 March 1916, she was commissioned on 3 April 1917.

First period in commission (1917-1922)

''Wando'' remained at the Charleston Navy Yard until 15 April 1917, when she got underway for New England waters and, with the

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

boat USS ''Wave'' (YFB-10) in tow, steamed north, via

Lynnhaven Roads Lynnhaven is one of the seven original boroughs created when the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia was formed in 1963. It is located in the North Central portion of the city. This area was originally located at the mouth of the Lynnhaven Bay inlet. ...

, Virginia and the

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

in New York City, arriving at

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

, Rhode Island, on 21 April 1917. Shifting to Boston, Massachusetts via the

Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the neck o ...

soon thereafter, she towed a coal barge to the New York Navy Yard on 25 April and 26 April 1917 and subsequently towed the scout cruiser USS ''Salem'' (CL-3) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Boston Navy Yard before she returned, via Philadelphia, to the Charleston navy Yard on 19 May 1917, towing the torpedo boat USS ''Barney'' (TB-25). After brief tours of duty at Georgetown, South Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida, ''Wando'' sailed for

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

, Virginia, anchoring with the fleet in the York River on 11 June 1917. Through the summer of 1917, the tug performed various utility duties —mostly towing targets and lighters, shifting target rafts and planting

buoys A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

- operating out of

Tangier Sound Tangier Sound is a sound of the Chesapeake Bay bounded on the west by Tangier Island in Virginia, and Smith Island and South Marsh Island in Maryland, by Deal Island in Maryland on the north, and the mainland of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and ...

and Yorktown, Virginia. During that time, she assisted the grounded

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

USS ''Louisiana'' (Battleship No. 19) on 6 July 1917. In mid-August 1917, ''Wando'' underwent repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard and there received a " minesweeping outfit." She departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 23 August 1917, heading for

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

waters and reached "Base 10" — Port Jefferson,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, New York — on the morning of 25 August 1917. From there she shifted to New London, Connecticut, where she received additional minesweeping gear from USS Baltimore (C-3) . On the evening of 8 September 1917, ''Wando'' embarked

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Reginald R. Belknap Rear Admiral Reginald Rowan Belknap (26 June 1871 – 30 March 1959) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Spanish–American War, Boxer Rebellion, Philippine–American War, and World War I. He gained distinction in 1909 ...

, Commander,

Mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

Force and transported him to Newport, Rhode Island, arriving there later that evening. ''Wando'' subsequently performed buoy and net-tending functions off the Cornfield Light Vessel from 10 September 1917 to 13 September 1917. ''Wando'' returned to New London on 16 September 1917 and the following day had more minesweeping gear installed. She again transported Captain Belknap as a passenger, from New London to Newport, before heading for Norfolk. For the remainder of September, ''Wando'' operated at "Base One," Tangier Sound, mooring target rafts, working on target moorings and making brief trips to the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs or supplies. ''Wando'' subsequently remained in the Chesapeake Bay-Hampton Roads-Tangier Sound region through the autumn months of 1917 and into the winter. Detached from her duty with the Mine Force on 19 November 1917, ''Wando'' resumed her operations with the Atlantic Fleet Train. However, she continued to perform the same basic duties, serving as target and net tender and delivering mail and dispatches through the end of March 1918. She subsequently towed targets for battleships engaging in gunnery exercises off the southern drill grounds, off the Virginia Capes and later laid buoys at the Potomac River Torpedo Range, off the mouth of the St. Mary's River. ''Wando'' deployed in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

for the first time in early 1919. Underway from Norfolk on 6 February 1919, she arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 14 February 1919, with '' Pontoon No. 23'' in tow. She performed her unglamorous service functions for the Fleet — towing targets, lighters and barges and delivering men and mail — in Cuban waters at Guantanamo Bay, Guacanayabo Bay and Manzanillo Bay until 17 April 1919, when she headed back to the United States. Reaching New York on the 18 April 1919, ''Wando'' subsequently shifted to Hoboken, New Jersey, where she underwent repairs over the first few days of May 1919. Returning to Norfolk on 6 May 1919, ''Wando'' towed targets and performed general utility service with the Atlantic Fleet Train through mid-July 1919 and then operated in waters off the northern part of the United States East Coast out of Newport, New London and New York. She remained at New York City from 10 August 1919 to 10 January 1920. Underway for Norfolk on 10 January 1920, ''Wando'' arrived there the next day but, on 14 January 1920, sailed south for Charleston. which she reached on 16 January 1920. Detached from the Atlantic Fleet Train on 26 January 1920, ''Wando'' was simultaneously assigned duties as a yard craft at the Charleston Navy Yard, her crew reduced to 14 men. While on active duty at Charleston, she was classified AT-17 on 17 July 1920, during the fleet-wide assignment of alphanumeric hull numbers. ''Wando'' operated in the 6th Naval District, out of the

, until 18 April 1922, when she was decommissioned and placed in reserve.

Second period in commission (1933-1946)

''Wando'' recommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California, on 15 March 1933. She was reclassified on 27 February 1936 from a seagoing tug (AT-17) to a harbor tug, YT-123. Assigned to 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 ...

after her recommissioning to operate at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, ''Wando'' performed her vital but unsung tug services from the late 1930s through World War II. On 15 April 1944, she was reclassified again to a large harbor tug, YTB-123, a classification she carried for the remainder of her active naval service.

Final decommissioning and sale

Ultimately placed both out of service and out of commission and 3 July 1946, ''Wando'' was delivered to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administrationfor disposal. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 30 December 1946 and she was acquired by the Puget Sound Tug and Barge Company on 28 April 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wando (YT-17) Tugs of the United States Navy Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina 1916 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States World War I auxiliary ships of the United States