Abnaki class
| Abnaki class | |
|---|---|
 USS Munsee (ATF-107) |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Deep sea tug |
| units | 33 built, 0 in service |
| Namesake | Abenaki Indian Federation |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
1205 ts |
| length |
62.5 meters |
| width |
11.7 meters |
| Draft |
4.7 meters |
| crew |
8 officers, 68 men |
| drive |
diesel-electric drive on one screw, 3000 hp |
| speed |
17 knots |
| Range |
15,000 nautical miles |
The Abnaki class was a class of ocean-going tugs in the United States Navy . The 33 ships in the class were built as a further development of the Navajo class between December 1942 and August 1945 and remained in service until the 1970s.
history
The Abnaki class was commissioned in the summer of 1942 and construction of the first units began in July. Between December 1942 and August 1945, the 33 units were completed, 21 by Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co in Charleston , South Carolina , and twelve by United Engineering & Drydock Co, distributed between the two shipyards in Alameda (9) and San Francisco (3 ). The ships took part in almost all major operations in the US Navy during World War II , and they were still in use during the Korean and Vietnam Wars . Two ships were lost, the USS Wateree sank in a typhoon off Okinawa on October 9, 1945, and the USS Sarsi hit a mine off the coast of Korea on August 27, 1952.
At the end of their service life, 20 tugs were sold, four went to Taiwan, three each to Mexico and Venezuela and two each to Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. Two tugs were sold to civilian operators.
technology
The 62.5 meter long and 11.7 meter wide tugs had a draft of 4.7 meters and an empty displacement of 1205 ts . The deployment displacement was 1645 to 1675 standard tons. The ships were propelled by a diesel-electric drive, which propelled a single 3.9 meter long screw. Four General Motors 12-278A diesel engines , each with an output of 1200 hp, each drove their own generator, which supplied electricity for three electric motors connected in series with a total of 3000 hp. The maximum speed was between 16 and 17 knots , the range with the 300 tons of fuel on board was between 6500 and 15000 nautical miles , depending on the speed .
The crew originally consisted of eight officers and up to 68 crew and non-commissioned officer ranks, but the strength was later reduced for cost reasons. The ships, which were under the command of the Military Sealift Command towards the end of their service life , had a crew of 28 civilian seamen and six naval radio operators.
In wartime, the tugs drove armed, there was a single 3-inch gun in front of the bridge, and two 40-mm twin guns and two 20-mm Oerlikon automatic cannons were housed on board.
