The third USS ''Ontario'' (AT–13), a single screw seagoing

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, suc ...

, was laid down by the

New York Shipbuilding The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Company,

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

on 23 November 1911, launched on 11 April 1912, and commissioned at

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 4 September 1912.

World War I

The finest development in naval tugboats up to that time, ''Ontario'' served as part of the Atlantic Fleet for the first five years following commissioning. The ship operated all along the Atlantic Coast and in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

in support of Fleet exercises and did auxiliary work in various ports and naval stations. When the United States entered

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 ...

in April 1917, the tugboat steamed along the East Coast laying anti-submarine nets and patrolling against minefields from

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, to

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

and towed barges of essential war supplies to New England ports. On an unknown date she towed Schooner from near Bartletts Reef (near

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

), where she had been sunk in a collision with

USS D-2 USS ''D-2'' (SS-18) was a D-class submarine of the United States Navy. Construction and commissioning ''D-2''′s keel was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, under a subcontract from Electric Boat Compan ...

on either 31 July 1917 to the vicinity of Sarahs Ledge in

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

where she sank again on 1 August. She damaged Tug on July 31 while engaged with salvaging Miller. From 24 December 1917 to 2 January 1918, ''Ontario'' helped rescue grounded freighter ''Matanzas'', an ammunition filled merchantman in danger of breaking up off

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

and then returned to towing and netlaying duties.

Interwar period

The tugboat sailed for

Queenstown, Ireland Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home ...

in late summer 1918, and joined the Atlantic Fleet Mine Force, patrolling off Daunt Rock Light Vessel, on guard against enemy submarines until after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

. She then engaged in patrol work out of Ireland, England, the Azores, Portugal, and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

into 1920 as part of Subchaser Detachment 2, U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters, removing remnants of the Great War's minefields. The ship sailed for

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

for duty as station ship, rescue vessel, Governor's yacht, transport, and the flagship of the United States Navy in Samoa in mid-1920. For the next two decades, aside from regular yard periods at

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 ...

for repairs, ''Ontario'' operated out of the

United States Naval Station Tutuila United States Naval Station Tutuila was a naval station in Pago Pago Harbor on the island of Tutuila, part of American Samoa, built in 1899 and in operation until 1951. During the United States Navy rule of American Samoa, from 1900 to 1951, it wa ...

in her diverse but useful capacity, becoming a legend to Samoa's young men who were encouraged to join the Navy because of her presence. The U.S. government had placed a ship, the Ontario v at the halfway point but it seems that though Earhart and Noonan saw a ship, it was another one 40 miles further north. This may have resulted in them thinking they were on the correct course when in fact they were heading to an area north of Howland Island. A message she had wanted to send before leaving Lae to the Ontario regarding the radio signals the ship should emit had not reached it.

World War II

On 3 January 1941, the tug sailed for Pearl Harbor for a yard period and remained there throughout the rest of the year while she was converted from coal to oil. When the Japanese attacked Pearl, on 7 December 1941, the ship went into action with her two machine guns and was credited with downing one enemy plane. She next operated on auxiliary service to the Fleet out of Pearl Harbor into late 1943 and then joined Service Squadron 2 for duty with that force at advanced bases in the invasions of the Ellice, Gilbert, and

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

. From October 1944 to August 1945, the ship served as yard tug at

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

supplying the amphibious and fast carrier task forces with barge towing and other varied services during the busiest periods of the war, taking time out only to lay anchor buoys for ships along the coast of

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

in November–December 1944. ''Ontario'' departed Ulithi for

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

at the end of August 1945, sailing thence to Pearl Harbor and finally San Diego with two storm damaged patrol boats in tow. The old tug arrived back in the United States for the first time in 25 years on 21 December 1945 and was immediately assigned to duty as yard tug at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

until decommissioned on 3 June 1946. She was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 19 June 1946 and sold to Floyd Harrington,

Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the South Bay and Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high p ...

on 4 April 1947.

Honors

A veteran of two world wars and the long peace between, ''Ontario'' received 1

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 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 ...

service.

References

External links

USS Ontario, Report of Pearl Harbor Attack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ontario (AT-13) Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation 1912 ships World War I auxiliary ships of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor Tugs of the United States Navy