Navajo class fleet tug

Class overview
Operators:	United States Navy
Built:	1938-1940
Planned:	3
Completed:	3
Active:	0
Lost:	2
Retired:	1
Preserved:	0
General characteristics
Type:	Fleet tug
Displacement:	1,235 long tons (1,255 t)
Length:	205 ft (62 m)
Beam:	38 ft 6 in (11.73 m)
Draft:	18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric, 1 shaft, 3,600 hp (2,685 kW) [1]
Speed:	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement:	85+
Armament:	• 1 × 3"/50 caliber gun • 2 × twin 40 mm guns • 2 × 20 mm guns

The Navajo class was the initial class of three fleet tugs built for the United States Navy prior to the start of World War II. 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 205' length, 38' beam, and substantial fuel-carrying capacity. They were also the first large surface vessels in the US Navy to be equipped with diesel/electric drive.

The Navajo class differed from their later, more numerous counterparts (the Apache, Bannock, Abnaki, and Achomawi classes) in various ways, most noticeably by the inclusion of a full-counter stern. Other, less visible differences included variances in armament, lifting boom design and capacity, superstructure arrangement, and internal layout.

All three vessels were constructed from 1938-1940, at the Staten Island Shipyard division of Bethlehem Steel Corp. Navajo and Seminole joined the Pacific fleet in 1940, and Cherokee to the Atlantic fleet. Navajo was en route to San Diego from Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, and immediately reversed course once news broke of the attack. She became a critical element of salvage operations there, as did her sister ship Seminole, in the days following the attack.

Ships

Navajo (AT-64) Seminole (AT-65) Cherokee (AT-66)

References

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

1. ^ "Huge Diesel Electric Tugs Attend Fleet At Sea" Popular Mechanics, December 1940