USS Montcalm (AT-39) was a of 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...

. The ship was laid down by the Staten Island Shipbuilding Company of Port Richmond, New York

Port Richmond, Staten Island

Port Richmond is a neighborhood situated on the North Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, United States. It is along the waterfront of the Kill Van Kull, with the southern terminus of the Bayonne Bridge serving as the boundary between it and Mariners Harbor, the...

, on 16 June 1919; launched on 26 February 1920; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 19 January 1921, Lieut. Carl I. Ostrom in command.

1921–1932

Assigned to the Navy Yard, Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, Montcalm departed New York on 2 March 1921, steaming via Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, and arriving at Guantanamo on the 14th. The tug operated out of the Cuban base through 1923, making periodic voyages to Key West

Key West

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....

, Norfolk and ports in the Bahamas

The Bahamas

The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

 until sailing for 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...

, on 24 April 1923. Arriving on 1 May, Montcalm was repaired and served locally and at Philadelphia before returning to Guantanamo Bay on 19 June 1924. Annual voyages to Charleston for repairs and service missions to New York in late 1929 and 1931 alternated with active service in the Caribbean. Montcalm arrived at Philadelphia on 25 May 1932 and decommissioned there on 30 June.

1935–1946

Recommissioned on 13 August 1935, she left Philadelphia on 14 September for her new base, Port Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

. She operated on numerous voyages along the Gulf and east coasts, as far west as Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, and as far north as Norfolk. While stationed at Pensacola, the ship acted as plane guard

Plane guard

A plane guard is a warship or helicopter tasked to recover the aircrew of planes or helicopters which ditch or crash in the water during aircraft carrier flight operations.-Ships:...

 for seaplane training, salvage ship, and naval aviation cadet training ship, in addition to performing her regular towing duties.

On 10 July 1939, the tugboat was reassigned to the Guantanamo Naval Station and for the remainder of her active career operated out of the Cuban base towing targets, and on salvage and towing missions throughout the Caribbean and to ports in the Southern United States. During World War II she continued her vital services in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. She was reclassified ATO‑39 on 15 May 1944.

Following the end of the war, the tug decommissioned at Charleston Navy Yard on 24 May 1946, 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 13 June 1946, and was sold to J. C. Berkwit & Co., New York City, on 12 February 1947.