USS ''Hopi'' (AT-71) was a constructed 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 ...

during

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 ...

. Her purpose was to aid ships, usually by towing, on the high seas or in combat or post-combat areas, plus "other duties as assigned." During

she was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater where she participated in four campaigns earning four

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 ...

Description

''Hopi'' was laid down 5 May 1942 by Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

and launched on 7 September 1942. She was commissioned 31 March 1943.

World War II service

After

shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

training in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

the ''Hopi'' left for New York and then was deployed with a convoy for North Africa on 10 June 1943 to join the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater.

Sicilian occupation

Upon arrival she was tasked with performing towing services for several days before steaming to Bizerte to join Vice Admiral Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force for the assault on Sicily. Departing Bizerte 8 July with pontoons in tow, Hopi landed them 2 days later and immediately set to work clearing the beaches of damaged landing craft and fighting fires on vessels in the transport areas.

Salerno landings

She returned to

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

10 August to prepare for the Salerno operation. She sailed early in September and again performed salvage work. On 11 September, , while lying-to in the support area awaiting calls for support, received a direct hit on No. 3 turret which left her dead in the water. ''Hopi'' and salvage tug immediately came alongside. Work by these two tugs allowed to return to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

that under her own power. On 16 September, took multiple hits from guided bombs. ''Hopi'' and ''Moreno'' were able to tow her to

without further incident.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopi Cherokee-class fleet tugs World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina 1942 ships Cherokee-class fleet tugs of the Republic of China Navy