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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Courtesy NAFTS

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Beaufort (ATS-2)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Uniform - Oscar - Tango
 NUOT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon - Joint Meritorious Unit Award - Navy Unit Commendation
Second Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (3) - Battle "E" Ribbon (5) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Humanitarian Service Medal (Boat People) - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

USS Beaufort (ATS-2) was sold to South Korea
Edenton Class Salvage and Rescue Ship:
  • Laid down, 19 February 1968 at Brooke Marine, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, United Kingdom
  • Launched, 1 December 1968
  • Commissioned USS Beaufort (ATS-2), 22 January 1972, LCDR. Arthur R. Erwin, in command
  • Decommissioned, 8 March 1996
  • Transferred, sold, under the Security Assistance Program to South Korea, 29 August 1996
  • Commissioned ROKS Pyeongtaek (ATS-27), date unknown
  • Struck from the US Naval Register, 12 December 1996
  • Decommissioned by South Korea, 4 January 2017
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,592 t.(lt) 3,484 t.(fl)
    Length 283'
    Beam 59'
    Draft 17' (max)
    Complement 9 Officers, 108 Enlisted
    Armament unknown
    Propulsion diesel, twin screws
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Beaufort
    09310224    		 124k
    Namesake
    Beaufort - a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, S.C.. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina established in 1670. Beaufort is affectionately known as the "Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands". Beaufort is located on Port Royal Island, in the heart of the Sea Islands and South Carolina Low Country.
    Photo - Beaufort harbor on the Intracoastal Waterway, 16 September 2009, by Cdamgen, via Wikipedia Commons.
    Map - Plan of the City of Beaufort, S.C., as allotted by U.S. Tax Commissioners for the District of South Carolina, February 1863, U.S. National Archives Identifier 305619. vis Wikipedia Commons.     		Tommy Trampp
    Beaufort
    09310223    		 234k Beaufort (ATS-2) builders 60% progress photo, May 1970, Brooke Marine Limited, Lowestoft, U.K.
    U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Identifier 7577231    		 Tommy Trampp
    Beaufort
    09310202    		 251k Beaufort (ATS-2) under way undergoing builders trials in the North Sea, circa late 1971 before being delivered to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 5 January 1972. Photo 09310202 - David Wright
    Photo 09310211 - Stan Svec
    Caption Information - ENC(SS) L. V. Merritt USS Beaufort 1971 -74
    Beaufort
    09310211    		 113k
    Beaufort 387k Beaufort (ATS-2) underway undergoing builders trials off Lowestoft UK, circa late 1971. Michael Marshall
    Beaufort 522k
    Beaufort 161k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) divers sit on the bow ramp of a motor work boat with Beaufort's bow overhead, 18 July 1979, prior to recovery of a Patrol Squadron Twenty-Two (VP-22) P-3B Orion that crash landed in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, 27 June 1979. The accident was caused by a dual engine failure claiming the lives of five crew members.
    US National Archives Photo # K-123735, (US Navy photo 428-GX K-123735) now in the custody of the US National Archives,College Park, MD.    		 Tracy White
    Beaufort 108k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) hoists the tail of a Patrol Squadron Twenty-Two (VP-22) P-3B Orion that crashed in Subic Bay, 27 June 1979, while attempting to land.
    US National Archives Photo # K-123713, (US Navy photo 428-GX K-123713) now in the custody of the US National Archives,College Park, MD.    		 Tracy White
    Beaufort 143k The torn and ripped fuselage of a Patrol Squadron Twenty-Two (VP-22) P-3B that suffered a dual-engine failure in flight and crashed into Subic Bay hangs from USS Beaufort (ATS-2)'s crane during recovery operations, 18 July 1979.
    US National Archives Photo # K-123738, (US Navy photo 428-GX K-123738) now in the custody of the US National Archives,College Park, MD.    		 Tracy White
    Beaufort 66k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) alongside USS Jason (AR-8), at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, circa 1981. Photo by Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 33k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) underway at Pearl Harbor, circa early 1980's.
    Photo contributed by Bob Brittingham, XO 1980 - 1982, to the National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors    		 Robert Hurst
    Beaufort 41k USS Brunswick (ATS-3) and USS Beaufort (ATS-2) pierside, date and location unknown. Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
    Beaufort 59k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) at anchor, off Pataya Beach, Thailand, circa 1984-88. Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 75k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) pierside at Bishop Point, Pearl Harbor, HI., circa 1984-88. Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 102k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) pierside at Naval Base, Yokosuka Japan, circa 1984-88. Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 126k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) underway off Hawaii, circa 1984-88. Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 47k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) at Pearl Harbor, HI., preparing to enter drydock, circa 1985. Photo by Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 61k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) at Bishop Point, Pearl Harbor, HI., circa 1987. Photo by Brian O'Connor, MM1 (SW/DV) USN Ret
    Beaufort 334k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) drydocked at Pearl Harbor, November 1981. Photo by Chris Howell, Southland Ship Stores Limited, Port of Bluff, N.Z.
    Beaufort 16k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) moored pierside, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., with primer on the port side, spring 1995. Photo contributed by Jim Doty to National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors Robert Hurst
    Beaufort 45k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) towing the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) at Pearl Harbor, 22 June 1998.
    Photo contributed by Craig Rothhammer to the National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors    		 Robert Hurst
    Beaufort 17k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) ball cap patch.
    Photo contributed by Rich Tetrault to the National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors.    		 Robert Hurst
    Beaufort 27k USS Beaufort (ATS-2) brass plaque.
    Photo contributed by Craig Rothhammer to the National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Beaufort (ATS-2)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Erwin, Arthur Robert22 January 1972 - 26 September 1973
    02LCDR. Fladd, Wirt Ross26 September 1973 - 30 October 1975
    03LCDR. Fulton, Stephen Howard30 October 1975 - 30 September 1977
    04LCDR. Lyons, Richard Leo30 September 1977 - 1 February 1980
    05LCDR. Wells, Robert Runkle 1 February 1980 - 22 January 1982
    06LCDR. Fisher, Frederick Bruce22 January 1982 - 23 September 1983
    07LCDR. Nibbs Jr., Alan McLeod23 September 1983 - 3 September 1986
    08LCDR. Gripp, Jan William3 September 1986 - 14 April 1989
    09LCDR. Skudin, Kemp Louis14 April 1989 - 15 August 1991
    10LCDR. Sepulveda, John15 August 1991 - 10 April 1992
    11LCDR. Thorne III, Silas Oliver10 April 1992 - 16 June 1992
    12LCDR. Beierl, Philip Gregory16 June 1992 - 4 October 1994
    13LCDR. Langston, Arthur L.4 October 1994 - 8 March 1996
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
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    Last Updated 2 June 2023