Uncas IV (YT-242)
1942-1947
A Mohican chief, the son of Owenoco, was born circa 1588. In 1626, he married the daughter of Sassacus, chief of the Pequots, and thus became a chief of the Pequot tribe. When a rebellion against Sassacus lead to his banishment, Uncas fled to the Narragansett tribe; but he subsequently made peace with the Pequots and returned. In 1637, he joined the English in a war against the Pequots, receiving a portion of captured Pequot land. This conduct earned him the enmity of the Pequots, Narragansetts, and other Native American tribes. In 1643, Uncas defeated the powerful Narragansett chief Miantonomo and executed him at the behest of the English colonists. In 1648 the Mohawks, Pocomtocks, and other Native American tribes made war on Uncas but failed to defeat him. Besieged by the Narragansett chief Pessacus, he was saved by Ensign Thomas Leffingwell. In gratitude, it is said that Uncas gave the Englishman all the land on the site of present-day Norwich, Conn. During his life, he allied with the English in all the wars waged against Native Americans, ending with King Philip's War in 1675. Uncas died in 1682 or 1683.
IV
YT-242: length 100'0"; beam 25'0"; draft 10'0"; speed 12.0 knots)
The fourth Uncas (YT-242), formerly Susan Moran and Southwind, was built at Orange, Texas, by the Levingston Shipbuilding Co. and acquired by the Navy on 21 March 1942.
She operated actively as part of the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, for the duration of World War II. Her most memorable service came with Convoy SC-107 in early November 1942 when she rescued survivors from ships torpedoed and sunk by German U-boats in the North Atlantic.
Reclassified as a harbor tug (big), YTB-242, on 15 May 1944, Uncas was placed in inactive status at Boston in March 1946. She was stricken from the Navy Register in January 1947 and sold to private ownership on 16 May 1947.
Uncas received one battle star for her World War II service, for her participation in the Battle of Convoy SC-107 (3-8 November 1942).
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
13 February 2024
