USS ''Wapello'' (YN-56), later YNT-24, was a

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 ...

net tender A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

in commission from 1941 to 1946. ''Wapello'' was completed as the commercial tug ''R. K. Evans'' in April 1941 by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works at Port Arthur,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, for the

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Acquired by the U.S. Navy for service as a net tender, renamed USS ''Wapello'', and designated YN-56, she was placed in service on 9 June 1941. On 15 June 1941, ''Wapello'' arrived at the Naval Station Key West at Key West,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, for conversion and fitting-out. On 26 June 1941, she departed for

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in company with

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, su ...

USS ''Umpqua'' (AT-25) and arrived at Guantanamo Bay. Cuba, on 29 June 1941. Escorted by cargo ship USS ''Vega'' (AK-17) from Guantanamo Bay to

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, and by

fleet oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

USS ''Ramapo'' (AO-12) from the

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to the Hawaiian Islands, ''Wapello'' arrived at

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, on 27 August 1941. Attached to the 14th Naval District, ''Wapello'' tended harbor nets through the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

on 7 December 1941. She remained at Pearl Harbor for the duration of hostilities, engaged in unglamorous but vital tasks. She was reclassified as a tug-class net tender, YNT-24, on 7 April 1942. With the end of the war in the Pacific on 15 August 1945, the need for ''Wapello''s services decreased rapidly, and she was declared surplus. Placed out of service at

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, on 23 October 1946 and struck from the

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on 21 November 1946, ''Wapello'' was turned over to the

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for disposal on 3 May 1947. She entered commercial service as ''Anna Coppedge''. In succeeding years her name changed several times, to ''Colorado Point'', ''Creole Firme'', ''Island No. 1'', and ''Gorgona II''. At the time of the name change to ''Island No. 1'', she was reflagged as a

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nian vessel. Her commercial career ended when she was crushed by a merchant ship in a lock of the

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; she was towed to Miraflores Lake after the accident and sank there.

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive YN-56 / YNt-24 Wapello
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wapello (YN-56) Net tenders of the United States Navy Tugs of the United States Navy Ships built in Port Arthur, Texas 1941 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor