USS ''Wenonah'' (YT-148/YTB-148/YTM-148) was a Woban-class district harbor tug which served during

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 ...

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 ...

ports, and continued her service until she was struck by the Navy in 1974. On 17 August 2009, the Wenonah sank while berthed at

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

, CA, and was raised by the floating crane

Left Coast Lifter ''Left Coast Lifter'' is a floating derrick barge or sheerleg which was built to assist in the eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. The barge carries a shear legs crane which is the largest barge crane ever used ...

on 28 August 2009.

Constructed in New York

''Wenonah'' (YT-148) -- a harbor tug constructed during the winter of 1940 and 1941 at

Morris Heights, New York Morris Heights is a residential neighborhood located in the West Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south, and ...

, by the Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp. -- was placed in service soon after her completion in June 1941.

World War II service

''Wenonah'' served in the 11th Naval District throughout her entire Navy career. She was initially based at

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

; but, during her 33 years of service, she also operated at and visited various other ports on the

coast.

Designation changes

On 15 May 1944, she was redesignated a large harbor tug with the hull designation, ''YTB-148''. Some 18 years later, she again changed designation and became ''YTM-148'', a medium harbor tug.

Decommissioning and scrapping

In April 1974, she concluded her long career and went out of service. Her name 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 autho ...

, and she was sold for scrapping. The identity of her purchaser is unrecorded, but sources say that the tug was owned by the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society (HTERS). ''Wenonah'' was laid up at Pier 1 at

Treasure Island, California Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay and a neighborhood in the City and County of San Francisco. Built in 1936–37 for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, the island's World's Fair site is a California Hist ...

, and sank in August 2009, spilling oil into San Francisco Bay. The Coast Guard contracted Global Diving to recover the vessel to prevent further leaks, and Global Diving turned to the American Bridge/Fluor Joint Venture for use of the ''

'' sheerleg crane to recover the vessel. ''Wenonah'' was turned over to the Coast Guard for disposal, and Bay Ship & Yacht in Alameda assumed the lease of Pier 1 in Treasure Island, which included taking possession of ''Wenonah'' and a sister tug owned by HTERS, USS ''Nokomis''. Both vessels were scrapped in 2010 in Alameda.

References

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Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenonah World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Tugs of the United States Navy Ships built in Morris Heights, Bronx 1940 ships