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U.S.S. MUNSEE
(AT-107)Click to view crew list
USS MUNSEE (AT-107) - an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug
In Commission 1943 to 1969AT-107 Deployments - Major Events
Add a AT-107 Shellback Initiation | Add a AT-107 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUG | 1942 | - | Keel Date: 20 AUG 1942 at United Engineering & Drydock Co. Alameda CA | ||
JAN | 1943 | - | Launch Date: 21 JAN 1943 | ||
OCT | 1943 | - | Commissioned: 30 OCT 1943 | ||
MAR | 1962 | - | JUL | 1962 | CHRISTMAS ISLAND ATOMIC TESTS |
NOV | 1969 | - | Decommissioned: 3 NOV 1969 |
AT-107 General Specifications
Class: Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug
Complement: 85 Officers and Enlisted
Displacement: 1680 tons
Length: 205 feet
Beam: 39 feet 3 inches
Draft: 16 feet 10 in
Final Disposition: Sold into commercial service 2 July 1970 Scrapped 1978
USS MUNSEE (AT-107)
Munsee (AT‑107)
was laid down 20 August 1942 by the United Engineering & Drydock Co.,
Alameda, Calif.; launched 21 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Lloyd A. Davis;
and commissioned 30 October 1948, Lt. John F. Pingley in command.
After shakedown and brief duty from west coast
ports, Munsee conducted towing operations between Hawaii and Midway and
the Marshalls. As ATF‑107, redesignated 15 May 1944, she proceeded, in
August, to the Solomons to prepare for the invasion of the Palaus. She arrived
off Peleliu, 17 September, and screened transports during the landings. She
then joined in the occupation of Ulithi, 23 September, and patrolled Kossol
Roads.
When Canberra (CA‑70) was damaged
by air attack off Formosa, 13 October, Munsee sailed to take her in tow,
rendezvousing 8 days later. Pawnee (ATF‑74) gave similar aid to Houston
(CL‑81), struck the day after Canberra. Still in range of land‑based
aircraft, the two cruisers drew heavy attacks, which Munsee and Pawnee
helped to fight off as they towed the cruisers to safer waters. Relieved 21
October, she returned to the Palaus for salvage duties.
At Ulithi, 20 November, for repairs, Munsee aided
in fighting fire on board Mississinewa (AO‑59) when the oiler was
hit by a Japanese kaiten. She maneuvered close enough to send a firefighting
party aboard. After 30 minutes, they were forced off the oiler, returning to Munsee
hand over hand on the mooring lines.
Towing and salvage duty in the Palaus and at
Ulithi continued. On 11 March 1945, she again fought fire in Ulithi Anchorage
when Randolph (CV‑15) was bombed. She next joined TG 50.8 for at‑sea
support of the Okinawa assault force. Arriving at Kerama Retto, 8 April, she
underwent two enemy air attacks, before sailing to take Sigsbee (DD‑502),
damaged by enemy aircraft, in tow for Guam. Rejoining TG 50.8, she sailed with
them through the violent typhoon of 5 June, during which Pittsburgh (CA‑72)
lost 225 feet of her bow. Munsee sailed in search of the missing
section, and shortly reported having sighted it and taken it in tow. The
unwieldy tow was safely brought to Guam, with Pakana (ATF‑108)
assisting in the final stage of the mission.
The tug served in the Marianas through July and
August; then, after hostilities ended, proceeded to Okinawa and Japan for
salvage and diving operations. She opened 1946 in the Marshalls and operated
between the central Pacific and the west coast until steaming to Bikini Atoll
in June for operation Crossroads, tests conducted through the summer to
determine the effects of atomic weapons on naval ships.
For the next two decades the tug performed
widely varied duties in the Pacific, towing assorted ships and craft from the
South Pacific to the Aleutians, and from the California coast to the Asiatic
mainland. The pace quickened during the Korean conflict in the early 1950s and
again in the mid‑1960's when the United States mustered forces to stop
Communist aggression in Vietnam.
On the morning of 10 July 1965, Munsee headed
for Pratas Reef, 200 miles south of Hong Kong. There Frank Knox (DD‑742)
had grounded. First on the scene, Munsee remained for several days,
helping to refloat the destroyer. On the 28th, she made a run to Camrahn Bay
with barges in tow, and then towed Frank Knox from Taiwan to Japan for
repairs.
Munsee returned to San
Diego 29 October 1965 and for the next year operated on the west coast. She
sailed, 28 October 1966, for the Gulf of Alaska. Arriving at Adak, 5 November,
she spent the next few months assisting disabled vessels in the Aleutians. She
headed south again in February, arriving at San Diego on the 22d. She operated
along the west coast until 19 October, when she departed again for the Far
East. After a stop at Pearl Harbor, Munsee reached Subic Bay 27
November. On 2 December she sailed for Vung Tau, Vietnam, to assist HCU‑1
in transferring equipment between lift craft. The veteran tug continued to
operate in the orient, supporting the struggle against communism in Southeast
Asia until returning to San Diego 28 May 1968. Late in the year she prepared to
return to the North Pacific.
[Note: The above USS MUNSEE (AT-107) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS MUNSEE (AT-107), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]