USS ''Genesee'' (AT-55), formerly ''Monocacy'', was a

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, such ...

in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

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 ...

built in 1905. She was scuttled on 5 May 1942 at

Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

to avoid capture. Nevertheless, she was raised by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and designated as ''Patrol Boat No. 107''. She was sunk by American planes on 5 November 1944.

Operational history

''Monocacy'' was built in 1905 by the Maryland Steel Co. of

Sparrow's Point, Maryland Sparrows Point is an industrial area in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Edgemere. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known f ...

. She was acquired by the Navy on 27 July 1917 from the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Co., in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and placed in service at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

on 25 September 1917, designated SP-1116. She was commissioned 10 November 1917 as USS ''Genesee'' (Fleet Tug No. 55). ''Genesee'' sailed from Philadelphia 20 November 1917 and, after joining a convoy at New London, reached Queenstown, Ireland, 27 January 1918. Until the end of World War I she operated in the

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

-Queenstown areas patrolling, towing, and serving as standby for deep sea rescue work. After towing from Queenstown to Brest, ''Genesee'' arrived

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...

, Portugal, 31 December 1918 and served as a tug at that port until 1 April 1919 when she sailed for Brest. She provided tug services and aid to stricken ships and finally got underway 30 September for a 7-month tour of duty off

Spalato Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see other names), is the second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast. The Split metropolitan area is home to a ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, and in

Castella Bay is a type of Japanese sponge cake and is known for its sweet, moist brioche-style flavour and texture. It is based on cakes introduced to Japan by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. It was then popularized in the city of Nagasaki, where ...

. On 17 July 1920 ''Genesee'' was designated AT-55. Next assigned to the Far East, ''Genesee'' arrived

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, 7 September 1920 for permanent duty on the Asiatic Station. She spent the summer of 1921 with the fleet at

Chefoo Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao o ...

, China, and returned to Cavite 19 September. Subsequently she operated as a tug, a ferry, and a target tow in the Philippines until she was scuttled at Corregidor 5 May 1942 to avoid capture. Subsequently raised by the Japanese, she was designated ''Patrol Boat No. 107''. On 5 November 1944, American

F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ...

s from

Task Group 38.3 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

sank ''Patrol Boat No. 107'' off

Lubang Island Lubang Island is the largest among the seven islands in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago situated to the northwest of the northern tip of the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. It is positioned approximately 40 kilometers west of C ...

(). ''Genesee'' was awarded one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

for World War II service in the U.S. Navy.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Genesee (AT-55) Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland World War I auxiliary ships of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States World War II patrol vessels of Japan 1905 ships Scuttled vessels Ships sunk by US aircraft Naval ships of the United States captured by Japan during World War II Maritime incidents in May 1942 Maritime incidents in November 1944