Editing Template:USS Papago

{{short description|Tugboat of the United States Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
|+USS ''Papago'' (ATF-160)
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Papago ATF-160.jpg|300px|USS ''Papago '' (ATF-166)]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Papago '' (ATF-160) c. 1954
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1944}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
|Ship laid down= 19 March 1945
|Ship launched= 21 June 1945
|Ship acquired=
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. William Thomas Johnston
|Ship commissioned= 3 October 1945
|Ship decommissioned= 28 July 1992
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=23 February 1995
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=*[[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]
*[[Navy Expeditionary Medal]]
*[[American Campaign Medal]]
*[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[National Defense Service Medal]]
*[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
|Ship status=Inactive Fleet - Philadelphia, PA
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Abnaki|fleet ocean tug}}
|Ship displacement=*1,205 tons (light),
*1,646 tons (full)
|Ship length={{convert|205|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|38|ft|6|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|15|ft|6|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=[[Diesel-electric]], four [[General Motors]] 12-278A diesel main engines driving four [[General Electric]] generators and three General Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines, single screw
|Ship speed={{convert|16.5|kn}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=8 officers, 68 enlisted men
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=One single [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun mount, two twin-[[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] gun mounts, two single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] guns
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Papago'' (ATF-160)''' was an {{sclass|Abnaki|fleet ocean tug}} built for the [[United States Navy]] during World War II, and named for the American Indian tribe of the [[Piman languages|Piman family]] that formerly lived south and southeast of the [[Gila River]] in [[Arizona]] and the Mexican state of [[Sonora]].

==Construction history==
''Papago'' was [[keel laying|laid down]] at [[North Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]] by the Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company on 19 March 1945.  She was launched on 21 June 1945, with Mrs. William Thomas Johnston as her sponsor.  ''Papago'' was commissioned into the [[United States Navy]] on 3 October 1945.

==Operational history==

===Post-shakedown operations===
Following shakedown, ''Papago'' reported to the [[Naval Station Newport|Naval Operating Base]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]], on 17 November 1945 and conducted training operations and movements to assist various vessels in distress for the remainder of that year.

===Major towing and salvage operations===
;1946–1950
After duty as a stand-by tug in [[Bermuda]], ''Papago'' towed YD–171, the world's largest self-propelled [[Floating crane]] at the time, from [[Bremerhaven]], [[West Germany|Germany]] to [[Cristóbal, Colón]], in the [[Panama Canal Zone]], from 14 August to 20 September 1946.

''Papago'' engaged in general towing, upkeep, and material maintenance for several months after which she made towing voyages in 1949 from the Panama Canal Zone to [[Naval Station Norfolk]]; from Norfolk to Newport; and from [[Boston]] to [[Bayonne, New Jersey]].
[[File:Grounded Missouri.jpg|thumb|left|200px|{{USS|Missouri|BB-63}} grounding (1950)]]
From 30 January to 7 February 1950, ''Papago'' was involved in re-floating the battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63}}, which had [[USS Missouri (BB-63)#Post-war .281946.E2.80.931950.29|run aground]] in [[Hampton Roads]] on 17 January.  She then moved decommissioned destroyer escorts to [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|Philadelphia]] for the transfer to France under the Military Defense Assistance Program between 10 and 14 May 1950.

;1961–1962
''Papago'' later towed the decommissioned heavy cruiser {{USS|Des Moines|CA-134}} from Boston to Philadelphia between 17 and 21 July 1961.  ''Papago'' was subsequently engaged in the salvaging and re-floating operation involving the decommissioned destroyer {{USS|Monssen|DD-798}}, which had [[USS Monssen (DD-798)#1951 .E2.80.93 1963|grounded]] at [[Beach Haven, New Jersey|Beach Haven]], [[New Jersey]], while being towed by another vessel during a [[Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962|severe storm]] on 6 March 1962 between 6 March to 22 April.  For this effort, ''Papago'' received a citation from [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[Robert Dennison (US Navy officer)|Robert L. Dennison]], the Commander-in-Chef U.S. Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT).

;1968
The first half of 1968 was marked by four and a half months of almost continuous steaming in coastal and Caribbean waters involving the pioneering of nuclear submarine towing methods, followed in the fall by participation in communications experiments in the Virginia Capes area. ''Papago'' received the Award of Excellence in Engineering for fiscal year 1968.

;1982
On 10 November, ''Papago'' towed the newly decommissioned destroyer {{USS|Barry|DD-933}} to the [[Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility]] at the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]], reaching that facility on 12 March.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/ddg-52.htm |title=USS ''Barry'' (DD 933) |access-date=29 August 2008 |website=Globalsecurity.org}}</ref>

===Naval exercises & operations===
''Papago'' did not participate in the [[Korean War]], while she did perform towing operations in coastal waters and the Caribbean.  ''Papago'' did participate in refresher training and towed gunnery targets in the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] area from 11 March to 16 July 1957.  She participated in [[NATO]]'s [[Operation Strikeback]], deploying to [[Scotland]] from 14 to 28 September 1957. ''Papago'' also participated in [[NASA]]'s manned space flight program as a naval support vessel for the following missions:

* [[Little Joe 2|Mercury Project]] – 2 to 4 December 1959
* [[Gemini IX]] – 3 June 1966
[[File:SH-3A Sea King hovers over the damaged USS Liberty (AGTR-5) on 8 June 1967 (USN 1123118).jpg|thumb|right|200px|USS ''Liberty'' incident (1967)]]
''Papago'' participated in [[Cuban Missile Crisis#Quarantine|quarantine operations]] during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] from 10 October to 14 November 1962.  In early 1963, she provided services for Operation Springboard in the Caribbean Sea and spent much of the remainder of 1963 and 1964 in the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] and [[Virginia Capes]] areas.  ''Papago'' later joined Commander Task Group 124.3 (CTG 124.3) in May 1965 for [[Dominican crisis#US Invasion|duty]] during the [[Dominican crisis|crisis]] in the [[Dominican Republic]], then steamed in the North Atlantic as part of Commander Service Division 81 (ComServDiv 81).

While serving as a rescue, salvage, and towing ship for the [[U.S. Sixth Fleet]] in 1967, ''Papago'' provided escort and communication support to the stricken {{USS|Liberty|AGTR-5}} which had been [[USS Liberty incident|attacked]] by [[Israeli Defence Force#Sinai Peninsula|Israeli forces]] during the [[Six-Day War]]. ''Papago'' ended 1968 undergoing an extensive overhaul at Newport News.

Starting 28 June 1985, ''Papago'' participated in [[War on Drugs|anti-drug]] patrols in the [[Caribbean Sea]] as part of [[Joint Interagency Task Force South|Joint Task Force 4 (JTF-4)]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Polmar |first=Norman |year=2001 |title=The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 15th edition |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis |isbn=1557506752 |pages=24, 282}}</ref>

==Awards & citations==
''Papago'' received the following awards and citations during her commission as a unit of the United States Navy:<ref name=Navsource>{{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/39/39160.htm |title=USS ''Papago'' (ATF-160) |access-date=29 August 2008 |website=Navsource.org}}</ref>
* [[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]
* Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (2)
* [[Navy Expeditionary Medal]] (3-Cuba)
* [[American Campaign Medal]]
* [[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
* [[National Defense Service Medal]] (2)
* [[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]] (1-Cuba, 1-Dominican Republic)

==Disposal==
''Papago'' was decommissioned on 28 July 1992 and was struck from the Naval Registry on 14 February 1995.  Following congressional approval in 1996 for transfer to the [[Northeast Wisconsin Railroad Transportation Commission]], she was handed over on 29 December 1997 to the [[Ontonagon County, Michigan|Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation]] on behalf of the [[Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad]], along with five other obsolete sister tugs.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, Sec.1023 |url=https://www.congress.gov/104/plaws/publ201/PLAW-104publ201.pdf |website=US Congress |access-date=2 March 2019 |location=Washington DC |page=216 (pdf)}}</ref> They were intended for a new trans-Lake Superior freight car barge service between Ontonagon and [[Thunder Bay]], Ontario,<ref name="IDG">{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Jan |title=Tug-barge project given up for dead |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ironwood-daily-globe-oct-14-1999-p-1/ |access-date=2 March 2019 |work=Ironwood Daily Globe |date=14 October 1999}}</ref> though it has been suggested that the company sought the tug's four General Motors engines (24 in all) to use in their locomotives.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Stephen S. |title=Class: Achowami |url=http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ATF/ATF148.html |website=Shipscribe: Data on U.S. Naval Auxiliary Ships |access-date=2 March 2019 |date=17 May 2011}}</ref> The project was abandoned in October 1999, shortly before title would have passed to the railroad company.<ref name="IDG" /> ''Papago'' remained in lay-up between 1997 and 1999 and, as of June 2010, was still part of the Naval mothball fleet located in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Navsource" />

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/papago.html}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=ATF160}}}}
*{{navsource|09/39/39160|USS Papago}}

{{Abnaki class fleet ocean tug}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papago}}
[[Category:Abnaki-class tugs]]
[[Category:Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:1945 ships]]