The second USS ''Wampanoag'' (ATA-202), originally USS ''ATA-202'', is 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 ...

auxiliary ocean-going tug in commission from 1945 to 1947. USS ''ATA-202'' was laid down on 24 August 1944 at Port Arthur, Texas, by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works. She was launched on 10 October 1944 and commissioned on 8 December 1944. ''ATA-202'' completed her shakedown and training during the latter half of December 1944 and proceeded 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 condui ...

to the Pacific Ocean. On 12 January 1945, she reported for

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 ...

duty with the

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

and, by late April 1945 had joined Service Squadron (ServRon) 10 at

Ulithi Atoll Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest ...

in support of the

Okinawa campaign The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. Late in May 1945, she moved to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

for a brief tour of duty, then returned to her base at

in mid-June 1945. It is reasonable to assume that her round-trip voyage to Okinawa was for the purpose of towing battle-damaged ships back to Ulithi Atoll for repair. ''ATA-202'' continued her duty with ServRon 10 through the end of the war, in which hostilities with Japan ceased on 15 August 1945. She was awarded one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her service during World War II. ''ATA-202'' returned to the United States in September 1945, and began nine months of duty in the 11th Naval District at San Diego, California. She was reassigned to the

Atlantic 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 s ...

's Texas Group at

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Hous ...

, in March 1946 and reported there in July 1946. On 27 February 1947, she was decommissioned there and berthed with the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While in reserve, she was renamed USS ''Wampanoag'' on 16 July 1948. ''Wampanoag'' remained in reserve until 25 February 1959 at which time she was loaned to the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. In the Coast Guard, she became the USCGC ''Comanche'' (WATA-202), later redesignated WMEC-202 as a medium endurance cutter. On 1 June 1969, her name was struck from the

Navy Directory 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 she was transferred permanently to the Coast Guard. ''Comanche'' operated along the

United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...

from 1959 to 1967. She moved her home port to Corpus Christi, Texas in 1967, then moved it again to

Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt Ba ...

, in 1969. She operated from Eureka until decommissioned by the Coast Guard on 30 January 1980 and laid up. She was sold into commercial service in 1991, and operated commercially in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

area of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

until laid up in 2000. In 2007, the ''Comanche'' was given to the Comanche 202 Foundation, a non-profit founded on 11 September 2007, for the purpose of preserving, restoring and operating the last complete ATA and the first U.S. Coast Guard Medium Endurance Cutter preserved on the west coast. As of 2015, she has been moored at the Tyee Marina, Tacoma, Washington, during the winter months and also at the Bremerton Marina, Bremerton, WA and visits other Puget Sounds port. ''Comanche'' is frequently open for tours. ''Comanche'' is fully operational and makes cruises on the Puget Sound. In October 2021 the command of the vessel was assumed by the ATA 202 Foundation, a non profit, to continue the ship's restoration and increas
public access.

References

External links

coastguardchannel.com COMANCHE 202 FOUNDATION

at navsource.org *https://www.facebook.com/COMANCHE202 *ata202foundation.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Wampanoag (ATA-202) Sotoyomo-class tugs Ships built in Orange, Texas 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Comanche Ships of the United States Museum ships in Washington (state)