Navajo

 

Tribe of Athapascan Indians displaced by early American pioneers and currently residing on reservations in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

 

III

 

(ATA–211: dp. 830; l. 143’; b. 33’; dr. 13’; s. 13 It. cl. A TA–121)

 

The third Navajo, an auxiliary ocean tug originally designated ATR–138, was redesignated ATA–211 on 13 April 1944 and laid down 20 January 1945 by Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas; launched 3 March 1945; and commissioned at Port Arthur 3 May 1945, Lt. (jg.) James McKnight in command.

 

Following fitting out and shakedown off Galveston, ATA–211 reported to the Naval Supply Depot, Gulfport, Mississippi 5 June, and thence steamed via the Panama Canal to San Diego, where she was to join ServRon 2, Pacific.

 

ATA–211 towed AFL–23 and YT–742 to Pearl Harbor in July and remained there to perform ready tug duty and relief towing services with the Waipie Salvage Dock, in the Ocean operations off Pearl Harbor. In October, she cleared Pearl Harbor with YO–12 and YG–28 in tow, and headed for Yokosuka, Japan, where she arrived the 24th. Departing Yokosuka in early November, she returned Pearl Harbor and, joined by ATF–157 and ARD–5, steamed to San Diego. She departed this base 27 December to serve as retriever tug for ATF–157.

 

After escorting ATF–157 through the Panama Canal, ATA–211 cleared Coco Solo 5 February 1946 and touched at Key West before arriving the U.S. Naval Station, Algiers, Louisiana, 11 February. She remained in the 8th Naval District for most of the remainder of her Naval career, providing towing service to ports such as Mobile, Galveston, Pensacola, and Charleston, and assisting in off-shore salvage operations.

 

ATA–211 was named Navajo 15 July 1948. She continued operations off the Gulf states and Bermuda into 1962. Decommissioning 10 April 1962, she was stricken from the Navy List 1 May 1962 and was subsequently sold to Twenty Grand Marine Service, Inc., Morgan City, Louisiana, in 1963.