USS ''Navajo'' (ATR-138/ATA-211) was an auxiliary ocean tug 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 ...

. Originally designated ATR–138, she was redesignated ATA–211 on 13 April 1944 and laid down on 20 January 1945 by Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works,

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...

. Launched on 3 March 1945, and commissioned at Port Arthur on 3 May 1945.

Pacific Theatre operations

Following fitting out and shakedown off Galveston, ''ATA–211'' reported to the Naval Supply Depot, Gulfport, Mississippi, on 5 June, and thence steamed via 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 ...

San Diego 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, where she was to join ServRon 2, Pacific. ''ATA–211'' towed ''AFL–23'' and harbor tug ''YT–742'' 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 ...

in July and remained there to perform ready tug duty and relief towing services with the Waipie Salvage Dock, in the ocean operations off Pearl Harbor. In October, she cleared Pearl Harbor with fuel oil barge ''YO–12'' and garbage lighter ''YG–28'' in tow, and headed for

Yokosuka, Japan is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

, where she arrived the 24th. Departing Yokosuka in early November, she returned Pearl Harbor and, joined by fleet ocean tug and auxiliary floating dry dock , steamed to San Diego. She departed this base on 27 December to serve as retriever tug for ''ATF–157''.

East Coast operations

After escorting ''ATF–157'' through the

, ''ATA–211'' cleared Coco Solo on 5 February 1946 and touched at

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

before arriving at the U.S. Naval Station, Algiers, Louisiana, 11 February. She remained in the

8th 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 ...

for most of the remainder of her Naval career, providing towing service to ports such as Mobile, Galveston, Pensacola, and

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, and assisting in off-shore salvage operations.

Decommissioning

''ATA–211'' was named ''Navajo'' on 15 July 1948. She continued operations off the Gulf states and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

into 1962. Decommissioning on 10 April 1962, she was stricken 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 ...

on 1 May 1962 and was subsequently sold to Twenty Grand Marine Service, Inc.,

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...

, in 1963. As of 2016, ''ATA-211'' remained in commercial service, operating in Honduras under the name ''Hyperion''.

References

External links

*
Utah History Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navajo (ATA-211) Sotoyomo-class tugs World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Port Arthur, Texas 1945 ships