USS ''Pawtucket'' (Harbor Tug No. 7/YT-7/YTM-7), was a district harbor tug serving in 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 ...

in the early 20th century, during both

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 ...

. This was the first of two US Navy namesakes of the city of Pawtucket,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, and the

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

tribe bearing the same name.

Service history

''Pawtucket'' was ordered on 3 March 1897, laid down at

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on 22 July 1898, and launched on 17 November 1898, christened by five year old Heather Baxter, daughter of Naval Constructor W. J. Baxter. The 19th century designation "Harbor Tug No.7" was officially replaced with "YT-7" (District harbor tug) on 17 July 1920. ''Pawtucket''s entire career was spent on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast, active in the

13th Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

, the

Puget Sound Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

being her permanent base for more than thirty years. During World War II she was armed with a single 20 mm gun and served as a patrol craft and minesweeper in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

area, with an increased complement of 16. ''Pawtucket'' was redesignated "YTM-7" on 15 May 1944. At the war's end, ''Pawtucket'' was declared surplus, placed out of service on 13 December 1946, and transferred to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

. She was then sold to the Northeast Merchandising Service, which operated her briefly in Puget Sound before scrapping her in 1947.

Personnel

* Robert Witcher Copeland ( CO, 1940s)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pawtucket Ships built in Vallejo, California World War II auxiliary ships of the United States 1898 ships Tugs of the United States Navy