USS Chawasha (ATF-151) was an Achomawi class fleet ocean tug 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...

 during 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...

. She was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Chawasha was laid down in April 1944 by the Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

; launched on 15 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. R.H. Grantham; and commissioned at Charleston Navy Yard on 6 February 1945, Lieutenant Howard K. Smith in command.

Service history

Following shakedown

Shakedown (testing)

A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...

 training in Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

, Chawasha sailed to Philadelphia, departing 24 March on a long and arduous towing job, bringing two dump scows through the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 and across the Pacific to Samar

Samar

Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

, P.I., which she reached 16 June. Her stay was brief, departing almost immediately for Ulithi Atoll to join logistic support group TG 30.8, arriving 27 June. Chawasha then spent the next two months assisting the Third Fleet in its series of pounding raids against the Japanese homeland. On 8 July, broke down at sea, and Chawasha towed her to Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

. The fleet tug rejoined TG 30.8 on 15 July for replenishment and courier service, evading a severe typhoon from 10–15 August. Chawasha was at sea off the Japanese coast when hostilities ended, and put in to Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 5 September. Over the next four months she cleared wrecked Japanese shipping from the dock areas at Yokosuka, Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

, Wakayama, and Kobe

Kobe

, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...

.

Chawasha continued to aid occupation activities in the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 until 19 February 1946, when she cleared Kobe

Kobe

, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...

 for Samar

Samar

Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

. Here, she took ARD-18 in tow for Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

, where she assumed another tow for Balboa

Balboa, Panama

Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...

. Sailing singly, she arrived in San Diego on 4 June, and entered preinactivation availability and overhaul. Chawasha was placed out of commission in reserve at San Pedro

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...

 on 30 September 1946.

Chawasha was transferred to the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on 25 October 1962 and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1963. She remained in Suisun Bay until 14 August 1978 when she was returned to the Navy

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

to be used as a target in a fleet training exercise. In November 1978, she was towed to Subic Bay, Philippines along with the former USS Sciota where both were to be stored prior to their sinking. The actual date of her sinking is unknown, but it is probable that Chawasha was disposed of in a fleet training exercise in late 1978 or early 1979.

Chawasha received one battle star for World War II service.