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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski, Shoulder Tab contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Allegheny (ATA-179)
ex
 USS ATA-179 (1944 - 1948)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Papa - Zulu
 NJPZ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)
Sotoyomo Class Auxiliary Fleet Tug:
  • Originally projected as Rescue Ocean Tug ATR-106
  • Reclassified Auxiliary Fleet Tug, ATA-179, 15 May 1944
  • Laid down, 22 May 1944, at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX.
  • Launched, 30 June 1944
  • Commissioned, USS ATA-179, 23 September 1944, LTjg. Thomas C. McLaren, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS ATA-179 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Visayan Island landings, 26 March to 4 April 1945

  • Decommissioned, 10 October 1947, at Orange, TX.
  • USS ATA-179 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange
  • Named, Allegheny (ATA-179), 16 July 1948
  • Recommissioned, 25 July 1949
  • Decommissioned, and Struck from the Naval Register, 14 December 1968
    School Ship and Merchant Service
    Transferred in 1969 to Northwestern Michigan College (Great Lakes Maritime Academy), Traverse City, MI. for use as a training vessel
    Sank at her berth at Northwestern Michigan College, 9 April 1970, raised shortly thereafter
    Sold in 1972 to Great Lakes Maritime Academy, renamed Allegheny
    Capsized sank at her berth at Traverse City, MI, 28 January 1978, in high winds and heavy snows
    Sold in 1978 to Keith E. Malcolm of St. Clair, MI., renamed Tug Malcolm
    Sild in 1994 at New Kent, VA. as the yacht Chesapeake Star
    Sold in 1999 to Beyel Cocoa Port Carnaveral, FL., renamed Matthew Beyel
    Current Disposition, active in commercial service as the tug Alejandro (homeported Alton.IL.) at Guayanilla Bay, Puerto Rico, for EcoElectrica, assisting LNG carriers
    Specifications (As Built):
    Displacement 835 t.(lt) 1,360 t.(fl)
    Length 143'
    Beam 33' 10"
    Draft 13' 2" (limiting)
    Speed 12 kts.
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
    Complement
    Officers 5
    Enlisted 40
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,200 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two GM 12-278A Diesel-electric engines
    single Fairbanks Morse Main Reduction Gear
    Ship's Service Generators
    two 60Kw 120V. D.C.
    single propeller, 1,200shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Allegheny (ATA-179)
    Allegheny 52k USS Allegheny (ATA 179) at the US Army Piers, Bayonne, N.J. In the foreground is the "Monster Buoy" (General Dynamics Buoy "Bravo") that she towed from Bermuda to the Pacific Coast during February and March 1967. Submitted by Keeth Kloepfer to National Association
    of Fleet Tug Sailors
    Allegheny 16k USS Allegheny (ATA-179), moored, location unknown, circa 1967-68 Submitted by Keeth Kloepfer to National Association
    of Fleet Tug Sailors
    Allegheny 44k USS Allegheny (ATA-179), underway date and location unknown. Submitted by Keeth Kloepfer to National Association
    of Fleet Tug Sailors
    Allegheny 61k USS Allegheny (ATA-179), underway in the Persian Gulf, circa September 1949 to May 1952.
    US Navy photo    		 William Beaulieu RD3
    Allegheny 69k USS Allegheny (ATA-179) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    School Ship / Merchant Service
    Allegheny 131k Ex-USS Allegheny (ATA-179) docking in Detroit, MI., circa 15 April 1969. She was scheduled to become a floating classroom for Northwestern Michigan College.Photo No. None, courtesy Shipscribe.com. Robert Hurst
    Allegheny
    093817909    		 50k Alejandro on the Great Lakes circa 1969-1978. She served as the training ship for Northwestern Michigan College (Great Lakes Maritime Academy), Traverse City, MI.
    Historical Collection of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green University    		 John Spivey
    Allegheny 191k Alejandro (ATA-179) undergoing a refit at a shipyard north of Afton, IL. on the Mississippi River, 3 May 2010 Photos by Mark Vosseller
    Allegheny 163k
    USS ATA-179 / USS Allegheny (ATA-179)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. McLaren, Thomas Charles, USNR23 September 1944 - 28 September 1945
    02LTjg. Martin, Truman Roy, USN28 September 1945 - 10 October 1947
     Decommissioned10 October 1947 - 25 July 1949
    03LCDR. Tinkler, David Rainey, USNOctober 1959 - July 1961
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    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
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Rescue Ocean Tug (ATR) Photo Index Back To The Auxiliary Fleet Tug (ATA) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 10 November 2023