The Navajo class was the initial class of three fleet tugs built for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 prior to the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. 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.