The ''Tug Ludington'' (formerly ''Major Wilbur Fr. Browder'') is a

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 ...

era

tugboat 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 ...

built in 1943 at Jacobson Shipyard in

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three towns which make up Nassau County, New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is the only town in Nassau County to extend from the North Shore to the South Shore ...

. The U.S. Army designated the tug LT-4. The tug's armament consisted of two 50 caliber machine guns and participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, towing ammunition barges across the English Channel. After World War II, it joined the U.S. Army Transportation Corps until 1947 when the Corps of Engineers transferred the tug to

Kewaunee, Wisconsin Kewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,837 at the 2020 census. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city is the county seat of Kewaunee County. Its Menominee name is ''Kewāneh' ...

and then renamed it the ''Tug Ludington''. It was used in the construction and maintenance of many harbors on the Great Lakes and now rests in Harbor Park in Downtown, Kewaunee and is open to visitors for tours. As the ''Major Wilbur Fr. Browder'', the tug is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.Kewaunee Area Chamber of Commerc
"Tug Ludington"
/ref> Although the U.S. Navy had more large ships than the U.S. Army in World War II, the Army had a larger number of total ships, almost twice as many as the Navy, including several thousand harbor craft. Classified as a large tug (LT), the ''Browder'' was able to sail to England under its own power. Several hundred LTs were built during World War II but only a few unmodified vessels exist today. A sister tug, the LT-5 ''Major Elisha K. Enson'', now the ''Nash'', is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a similar history. The ''Browder'' was originally painted navy gray, but as the ''Ludington'' is now painted as it was in its second life as a construction and maintenance ship, in the colors of the Corps of Engineers, primarily black, silver, and red. The tug is 115 feet in length, with a 26-foot beam and 14 foot 3 inch draft. The tug was fitted for a crew of 24 in World War II, and 14 when operated by the Corps.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludington 1943 ships Kewaunee County, Wisconsin Ships of the United States Army Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Tugboats of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States National Register of Historic Places in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin Museum ships in Wisconsin