USS Cahuilla (ATF-152)
| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Cahuilla |
| Builder: | Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. |
| Laid down: | as Cahuilla (AT-152) |
| Launched: | 2 November 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 10 March 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 27 June 1947 |
| Reclassified: | Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF-152), 15 May 1944 |
| Struck: | 9 July 1961 |
| Fate: | Transferred under the Security Assistance Program to Argentina, 9 July 1961 |
| Career (Argentina) | 100x35px |
| Name: | ARA Comandante General Irigoyen (A-1) |
| Acquired: | 9 July 1961 |
| Out of service: | 2009 |
| Fate: | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Navajo class fleet tug |
| Displacement: |
1,240 long tons (1,260 t) light 1,646 long tons (1,672 t) full |
| Length: | 205 ft (62 m) |
| Beam: | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft 5 in (4.70 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Motors 12-278A Diesel-electric engines, 3,000 hp (2,237 kW), single screw |
| Speed: | 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 85 |
| Armament: |
• 1 × 3"/50 caliber gun • 2 × twin 40 mm guns • 2 × 20 mm guns |
USS Cahuilla (ATF-152) was a Navajo class fleet tug in the service of the United States Navy during World War II.
She was laid down as Cahuilla (AT-152) at Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of Charleston, South Carolina; redesignated fleet ocean tug (ATF-152) on 15 May 1944; launched on 2 November 1944; and commissioned USS Cahuilla (ATF-152) on 10 March 1945.
Contents
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
USS Cahuilla's first service to the U.S. Navy was a brief tour as antisubmarine attack teacher at Norfolk, Virginia. From there she sailed 18 April 1945 towing USS Pegasus (AK-48) for Pearl Harbor. After delivering her tow 24 May, the fleet tug sailed for Guam, where she took a string of pontoon barges in tow for Okinawa.
From 26 July to 6 August, she served to escort convoys and as rescue tug for the ships passing through the dangerous waters off Okinawa, subject to the desperate suicide attacks of Japanese aircraft.
End-of-War operations
The end of the war found USS Cahuilla at sea, bound for salvage operations at Eniwetok, from which she returned to take part in the occupation of Nagasaki, Japan, until 16 October. From that time she was based on Okinawa for rescue and tow operations until 14 February 1946.
USS Cahuilla continued to offer towing service to fleet units, and rescue work to naval and merchant ships, calling at Pearl Harbor, Kwajalein, and ports of the west coast and Panama Canal Zone until January 1947.
Decommissioning
USS Cahuilla was decommissioned on 27 June 1947 at San Diego, California. Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, she was struck from the Naval Register and later transferred, under the Security Assistance Program, to Argentina on 9 July 1961.
Renamed ARA Comandante General Irigoyen (A-1), she was in service with the Argentine Navy until 2009.
Since 2010, she is permanently moored in San Pedro as the "Buque Museo Irigoyen", the third argentine museum ship.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
See also
External links
- NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AT-152 / ATF-152 Cahuilla
- An article on the Buque Museo Irigoyen opening (in Spanish)
- Video: Irigoyen's last trip
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- Ship infoboxes without an image
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Abnaki class tugs
- Ships built in South Carolina
- 1944 ships
- World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
- United States Navy ships transferred to the Argentine Navy
