USS ''Cahuilla'' (ATF-152) was an Abnaki class fleet tug in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. In 1961 she was sold to the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

as ARA ''Irigoyen'' (A-1) where she served until 2009 when she became a

Museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

US Navy service

She was laid down as ''Cahuilla'' (AT-152) at Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

; redesignated fleet ocean tug (ATF-152) on 15 May 1944; launched on 2 November 1944; and commissioned USS ''Cahuilla'' (ATF-152) on 10 March 1945.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

USS ''Cahuilla's'' first service to the U.S. Navy was a brief tour as antisubmarine attack teacher at

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 ...

. From there she sailed 18 April 1945 towing for Pearl Harbor. After delivering her tow 24 May, the fleet

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 ...

sailed for Guam, where she took a string of pontoon barges in tow for Okinawa. From 26 July to 6 August, she served to escort convoys and as rescue

for the ships passing through the dangerous waters off Okinawa, subject to the desperate suicide attacks of Japanese aircraft.

End-of-War operations

The end of the war found USS ''Cahuilla'' at sea, bound for salvage operations at Eniwetok, from which she returned to take part in the occupation of Nagasaki, Japan, until 16 October. From that time she was based on Okinawa for rescue and tow operations until 14 February 1946. USS ''Cahuilla'' continued to offer towing service to fleet units, and rescue work to naval and merchant ships, calling at Pearl Harbor, Kwajalein, and ports of the

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

and

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

until January 1947.

Decommissioning

USS ''Cahuilla'' was decommissioned on 27 June 1947 at San Diego, California. Laid up in the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...

, she was struck from the

Naval Register 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 ...

and later transferred, under the

Security Assistance Program The United States Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments. The purchaser does not deal directly with the defense ...

, to Argentina on 9 July 1961.

Argentine Navy service

In 1961 the tug was acquired by the

as an Aviso and renamed ARA ''Comandante General Irigoyen'' (A-1) in honor of Spaniard Don Matías de Irigoyen y de la Quintana who was War Secretary between 1815 and 1819. Commandante General Irigoyen carried out search and rescue activities in the Falklands War, in the area of Task Force 50. A helicopter belonging to the ARA HÉRCULES was rescued from the sea in the area delimited as TOAS, almost 30 miles from the coast. the operation was risky since the unit was 30 meters deep and the divers had to sterilize all of its anti-submarine configuration that was activated by water pressure, then it went to Puerto Deseado to relieve the ARA Somellera Warning After the transfer of its antenna, the specific mission, in addition to being a search and rescue unit, was to support all the aircraft that went to and returned from Malvinas, the antenna was placed on the ship to carry out trigonometry so that the Argentine planes could locate on the continent the area called FT 50 under the command of Rear Admiral RE, now deceased, Héctor Martini. It is paradoxical that both the Sobral and the Somellera, together with the Area Chief, were considered Malvinas War Veterans and the ARA Irigoyen was not, fulfilling the same or more missions in the same geographical location on hot dates of the war and within the TOAS, That is why today in Naval jargon it is called "the ghost ship" http://avisoarairigoyen.blogspot.com/ . It also served as an Antarctic support and practice and training ship for divers and submarines. On September 29, 2009, with 400,000 miles sailed in the Argentine Sea, it was finally retired. During her career she also acted as an

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 ...

support ship and as a submarine force divers training ship. On 29 September 2009 after 400.000 miles sailed in the South Atlantic, she was finally retired.Pasan a reserva al ARA Irigoyen

Museum

In January 2010, she was transferred to the care of the municipality of San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province and permanently moored as the Buque Museo Irigoyen, the third Argentine

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

, opening to the public in May 2010. On 5 November 2020 the tug was found to be listing dangerously after taking water and assistance was sought from the Navy to prevent her sinking or breaking free.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Buque Museo Irigoyen
- official site

* ttp://www.histarmar.com.ar/Museos/BuqueMuseoIrigoyen.htm An article on the Buque Museo Irigoyen opening
Video: Irigoyen's last trip

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahuilla (ATF-152) Abnaki-class tugs Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Argentine Navy Museum ships in Argentina Buenos Aires Province Military and war museums in Argentina Naval museums