Avoyel (AT-150)
1945-1969
An Indian tribe native to the state of Louisiana.
(AT-150: displacement 1,675; 1ength 205'; beam 38'6"; draft 15'4"; speed 16.5 knots; complement 85; armament 1 3-inch, 2 40 millimeter, 2 20 millimeter, 2 depth charge tracks; class Navajo)
Avoyel (AT-150) was laid down on 25 March 1944 at Charleston, S.C., by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; launched on 9 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George E. Goodman; and commissioned at Charleston on 8 January 1945, Lt. Cmdr. William R. Brown in command.
Following shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay, the tug then reported to the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., for post-shakedown availability. Upon completion of the yard period, the tug was ordered to proceed to the Hudson River which had frozen to a depth of two to three feet. Avoyel cleared a path to lona Island so that ammunition barges could be moved down the river. When this assignment was finished, the vessel returned to Norfolk.
In early March, the tug sailed for New Orleans where she picked up a tow and pulled it to Gulfport, Miss., for loading. Avoyel departed the gulf coast on 20 March, bound for the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal and continued on to the South Pacific. The ship paused at Bora Bora, Society Islands, to refuel before reaching Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island, on 13 May. Upon her arrival there, the tug reported to Commander, Service Force 10, for duty. On 15 May, the tug was redesignated ATF-150.
During the remaining months of World War II, Avoyel carried out various towing operations among the Philippine Islands; Hollandia, New Guinea; Ulithi, Caroline Islands; Guam, Mariana Islands; Okinawa; and Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. Following the Japanese capitulation on 15 August, the tug got underway with Task Group 95.4 to clear mines from the waters of the Yellow Sea, off the coast of Korea. Avoyel sank several mines with rifle fire; and, on 7 September, Allied occupation forces began steaming through the cleared area toward the Korean mainland.
The tug anchored at Sasebo, Japan, on 16 September and operated in the Sasebo area for the next three months, performing towing jobs and making resupply and refueling runs. On 8 December, Avoyel got underway to return to the United States. She made stops en route at Saipan, Eniwetok, and Guam. The tug remained at Guam from 28 March until 12 May 1946 for repairs and alterations. She then sailed, via Pearl Harbor, for the Canal Zone. The vessel retransited the Panama Canal on 12 July and reached New Orleans on the 28th. The ship then underwent a preinactivation overhaul.
On 17 October, Avoyel proceeded to Orange, Tex., and was placed out of commission, in reserve, there on 11 January 1947. On 9 July 1956, the ship was loaned to the U.S. Coast Guard and assigned to duty at Eureka, Calif. On 1 June 1969, her name was stricken from the Navy List, and the ship was permanently transferred to the Coast Guard on that same day. The vessel was decommissioned by the Coast Guard on 30 September 1969, sold, and placed in commercial service.
