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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patch at left courtesy Greg Collins via Mike Turner, patch at right courtesy Mike Smolinski

USS Moctobi (ATF-105)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Whiskey - Xray - Delta
 NWXD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (2)
Fourth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3 -Quemoy-Matsu, 4-Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Coast Guard Unit Commendation
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
Abnaki Class Fleet Ocean Tug:
  • Laid down, 7 October 1943, as Fleet Tug (AT-105) at Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 25 March 1944
  • Redesignated Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF-105), 15 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS Moctobi (ATF-105), 25 July 1944, LT. Troy Braesher USN in command
  • Following World War II and during the Korean War USS Moctobi was assigned to Occupation and China Service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    2 September to 25 December 194518 June to 5 July 1951
    2 to 9 December 1946 
    16 to 29 January 1947 

  • Decommissioned, 30 June 1948
  • Assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet San Francisco Group at Alameda CA., 27 August 1948
  • Recommissioned, 8 November 1950, at San Francisco, CA., LT. John M. Geortner USN in command
  • During the Korean War USS Moctobi participated in the following campaigns:
    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Communist China Spring Offensive
    30 April to 20 May 1951
    1 to 18 June 1951    		 UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    7 to 25 September 1951
    27 to 29 September 1951
    5 to 8 November 1951

  • During the Vietnam War USS Moctobi participated in the following campaigns:
    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase III
    13 July to 17 August 1967
    10 to 16 September 1967
    7 to 11 October 1967
    29 October to 4 November 1967    		 Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase VII
    31 August to 6 September 1970
    1 to 13 November 1970

  • Decommissioned, 30 September 1985, at Long Beach, CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Bremerton, WA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 27 January 1992
  • Sold, 29 December 1997 to the Northeast Wisconsin Railroad Transportation Commission, to be leased to Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad Co.
  • Current location, Historic Shipyard #3, Richmond, CA.
  • USS Moctobi earned two battle stars for the Korean War and two campaign stars for the Vietnam War
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,240 t.(lt) 1,675 t.(fl)
    Length 205'
    Beam 38' 6"
    Draft 15' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 5
    Enlisted 80
    Largest Boom Capacity
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    two single 40mm AA gun mounts
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 2,265 Bbls
    PropulsionDiesel-electric
    four Alco Diesel main engines driving four General Electric generators and three General Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines
    single propeller, 3,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Moctobi 58k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) in World War II dark gray paint scheme circa April 1946
    US Navy photo    		 Norman Davis via Mike Turner
    Moctobi 168k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) underway arriving in San Francisco Bay, the morning of 10 April 1946. (Note the Golden Gate Bridge tower in the background.) Moctobi had completed towing a floating drydock from Okinawa to Pearl Harbor and was returning to San Francisco for engine repairs. Photo from "The Towline" the National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors magazine, 1 September 1996. Stan Svec
    Moctobi 91k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) moored pierside at Adak, AK., spring 1962. Photo by Dennis Colton USS Moctobi
    Moctobi 99k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) bridge and wheelhouse area, 1962. Photo by Dennis Colton USS Moctobi
    Moctobi 91k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) fantail area. Note; tow in distance, 1962. Photo by Dennis Colton USS Moctobi
    Moctobi 109k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) with hazegray paint scheme circa June 1946 Norman Davis via Mike Turner
    Moctobi 42k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) at Alpha Dock, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, HI, 1966 Photo by Ralph Carpenter via Mike Turner
    Moctobi 33k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) undergoing salvage drills Photo by Joe Siesal, submitted
    to NAFTS
    (National Association
    of Fleet Tug Sailors)
    Moctobi 154k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) underway, circa late 1960s to early 1970s Steve Bingham via Mike Turner
    Moctobi 88k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) recovering an Air Force drone, Lingayen Gulf, P.I., November 1970. Jack W Miller, EMC USN, Ret.USS Moctobi
    Moctobi 115k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) crewmembers, spring 1971. The ship was in drydock at Pearl Harbor. Jack W Miller, EMC USN, Ret.USS Moctobi
    Moctobi 73k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) moored pierside at Naval Station Sasebo, Japan circa 1980s. Ron Reeves
    Moctobi 89k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) underway circa 1979-1982 Jim McLean via Mike Turner
    Moctobi 79k USS Moctobi (ATF-105) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr
    Moctobi 75k Ex-Moctobi (ATF-105) and ex-Quapaw (ATF-110), Pier 9, former Naval Station Long Beach, CA., circa 1993 Photo by Art Ramirez USN Ret via Richard Tetrault
    Contributed by Mike Turner
    Moctobi 143k Ex-Moctobi (ATF 105) moored to port of the ex-Quapaw (ATF-110), date unknown, Historic Shipyard #3, Richmond, CA. Roger Herbst
    Quapaw 85k Ex-Moctobi (ATF 105) and ex-Quapaw (ATF-110) moored outboard and astern of the old wooden hulled West Coast passenger and freight steamer Wapama, date unknown, Historic Shipyard #3, Richmond, CA. Roger Herbst
    USS Moctobi (ATF-105)
    DANFS     history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Braesher, Troy USN24 July 1944 - ?
     Decommissioned 30 June 1948 - 8 November 1950
     LT. Geortner, John M. USN8 November 1950 - ?
    11LT. Uehlinger, John, Clark USN18 January 1960 - 27 December 1961
    12LCDR. Godden, Richard Owen USN27 December 1961 - 25 September 1963
    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
    USS Moctobi (ATF-105) Crew Photos By Dennis Colton
    National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Fleet Tug (AT) Photo Index Back To The Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 25 November 2011