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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Chetco (ATA-166)
ex
 USS Chetco (AT-166) (1922 - 1937)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Mike - Foxtrot
 NFMF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal
Fleet Tug:
  • Built, 1919 as the civilian tug Barryton by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Elizabeth, N.J. for the (USSB) United States Shipping Board
  • Acquired by the Moran Towing Co., In 1942, renamed Thomas E. Moran
  • Purchased by the Navy, 13 September 1943
  • Converted for Naval Service at Boland Machine Co., New Orleans, LA.
  • Commissioned USS Chetco (AT-166), 24 September 1943. LTjg. Ronald E. Gill, USN in command
  • During World War II USS Chetco was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Bismarck Archipelago operation
    Admiralty Island landings, 28 March to 6 April 1944     		Hollandia operation, 21 to 25 April 1944

  • Reclassified, Auxiliary Fleet Tug (ATA-166), 15 May 1944
  • Decommissioned, 14 June 1946 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS Chetco earned two battle stars for World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, 18 June 1945
  • Acquired by Moran Towing Co. in 1947, renamed Neptune
  • Final Disposition, involved in a collision and sank in 1948
    Specifications:
    Displacement 437 t.(lt) 1500 t.(fl)
    Length 150'
    Beam 27' 7"
    Draft 15'
    Speed 12.5 kts
    Complement
    Officers 3
    Enlisted 44
    Armament
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,245 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Faribanks Morse Diesel electric engine
    Ship's Service Generators
    two Diesel-drive 60Kw 120V D.C.
    one Diesel-drive 40Kw 120V D.C.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Chetco (AT-166)
    Chetco 120k Chetco (AT-166) after her commissioning by the Navy in September 1943. This tug was rebuilt with diesel electric propulsion circa 1940-1941.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-51603, a Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Chetco (ATA-166)
    Chetco 100k Chetco (ATA-166) probably returning to San Francisco from the western Pacific in December 1945.
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 83821, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Chetco (AT-166 / ATA-166)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Gill, Ronald Eugene, USN24 September 1943 - 30 July 1945AT-166 / ATA-166
    02ENS. Hoskinson, Elijah Palmer, USN30 July 1945 - 14 June 1946ATA-166
    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 Fleet Tug (AT) 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 15 May 2020