USS Chippewa (AT-69) was a constructed 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. 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." She served in the Atlantic Ocean.

Chippewa was laid down as AT-69, on 26 June 1942, by the Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., 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 25 July 1942; sponsored by Mrs. T. Horton; and commissioned on 14 February 1943, Lt. (jg.) A. V. Swarthout in command.

World War II Atlantic Ocean operations

Chippewa crossed the Atlantic from Norfolk to Casablanca to lay buoys there between 4 May 1943 and 9 June, returning to Boston 26 June. Two days later, she cleared for Norfolk and overhaul, and on 19 July began towing duty with a passage to Bermuda and Jacksonville. Assigned to duty in the Caribbean Sea Frontier, she made Trinidad, British West Indies, her principal base until 6 May 1944, when she returned to Norfolk for repairs. On 15 May she was reclassified ATF-69.

With repairs complete 11 June 1944, Chippewa returned to towing and salvage duty in the Caribbean out of Trinidad until 29 March 1945. After repairs at Norfolk, she was reassigned for duty based on Argentia, Newfoundland, between 19 May and 1 November. During this time, she made a long towing voyage to Houston, Tex. Chippewa made her last towing passage from Boston to Bermuda to Norfolk, where she arrived 28 December with SS War Bonnet in tow.

Post-war decommissioning and Fate

In March 1946, Chippewa reported to the U.S. 16th Fleet for inactivation, decommissioning on 26 February 1947 and berthing at Orange, Texas

Orange, Texas

Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

. The diesel electric, single screw tug remained in the Reserve Fleet

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

 until transferred to the Maritime Administration and moved to the Beaumont NDRF on 15 November 1960. Chippewa was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

on 1 September 1961. Chippewa remained in the Beaumont NDRF until 17 August 1989 when she was returned to the Navy to be prepared to be sunk as an artificial reef. Chippewa was sunk on 8 February 1990 by a network of 37 explosive charges, where she continues to serve the Panama City area as an artificial reef.