The ''Cherokee'' class of
fleet tugboats, originally known as the ''Navajo'' class, were built for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
prior to the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
They represented a radical departure from previous ocean-going tug designs, and were far more capable of extended open ocean travel than their predecessors. This was due in large part to their length of , beam, and substantial fuel-carrying capacity. They were also the first large surface vessels in the United States Navy to be equipped with
Diesel-electric drive.
[
The first three vessels, , and , were constructed from 1938 to 1940 at the Bethlehem Staten Island division of ]Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...
. ''Navajo'' and ''Seminole'' joined the Pacific fleet in 1940, and ''Cherokee'' went to the Atlantic fleet. ''Navajo'' was en route to San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
from 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 Reci ...
on 7 December 1941, and immediately reversed course to Pearl Harbor once news broke of the Japanese attack. She became a critical element of salvage operations there, as did her sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
''Seminole'', in the days following the attack.
Following the loss during World War II of the first two ships of the class, ''Navajo'' and ''Seminole'', the class was renamed from its original pre-war name of ''Navajo'' class to ''Cherokee'' class, the name of the third ship laid in 1939, which still survived.
Ships
(*)Note: The reason for the gap in numbering from AT-95 to AT-153 is unknown.
See also
*
* Type V ship – Tugs
* List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy
This is a list of Auxiliary ship, auxiliaries of the United States Navy. It covers the various types of ships that support the frontline combat vessels of the United States Navy.
Auxiliary ships which function as hospital ships and as oilers a ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navajo class fleet tug
Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy
Auxiliary tugboat classes