Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Kalmia (ATO-23)
ex
 USS Kalmia (AT-23) (1920 - 1944)
 USS Kalmia (Fleet Tug No. 23) (1919 - 1920)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Zulu - Sierra
 NAZS
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Defense Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Bagaduce Class Fleet Tug:
  • Laid down, 23 August 1918, at Ferguson Steel & Iron Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
  • Launched, 26 August 1919
  • Commissioned USS Kalmia (Fleet Tug No. 23), 18 November 1919, LTjg. W. S. Burns in command
  • Redesignated Fleet Tug (AT-24), 17 July 1920
  • Reclassified, Fleet Tug Old, (ATO-24), 15 May 1944
  • Decommissioned, 15 May 1946, at San Pedro, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • Final Disposition, sold 21 January 1947 to Bay Cities Transportation Co., San Francisco, CA., fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 751 t.(lt) 1,155 t.(lim)
    Length 156' 8"
    Beam 35' 3"
    Draft 15' 4"
    Speed 12.8 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 5
    Enlisted 56
    Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
    Armament one machine gun
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 1,840 bbls
    Propulsion
    one Globe Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 200psi, sat.
    one turbo-drive 25Kw 120V D.C. Ship's Service Generator
    single propeller, 1,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Kalmia 66k USS Kalmia moored dockside, date and location unknown.
    Photo from the book "U.S. Warships of World War 1", courtesy Paul H. Silverstone    		 Robert Hurst
    Kalmia 77k USS Kalmia (AT-23) with L-1 (SS-40) tied up alongside at Lewes, DE., 5 February 1921. L-1's after ballast tanks have been partially filled, raising her bow.
    US Navy photo # NH 51164 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 Mike Green
    L-1 731k "CARRIED" EIGHTY-FIVE MILES.
    The United States submarine L-1 (SS-40), rammed last week by a pilot-boat off the Delaware capes, came into the Philadelphia Navy Yard yesterday, supported by tho salvage tug USS Kalmia (AT-23) (left) and the navy yard tug Modoc (YT-16). At the right can be seen an ten-inch pump line from the which kept the water out of the engine hatch-room of the submersible during the trip from Lowes, Del. A smaller pump line worked from the Modoc (YT-16).    		 Image provided by: Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
    Photo from Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 08 February 1921, NIGHT EXTRA, Image 24, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
    PDF added 12/02/10.
    Kalmia 91k USS Kalmia (AT-23) moored pierside at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 3 June 1926.
    US Navy photo # NH 52220 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Kalmia 65k USS Kalmia (AT-23) assists the battleship USS California (BB-44) as she gets underway at San Diego, 23 May 1938.
    US Navy photo # NH 102782 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, collection of Chief Boatswains's Mate Ralph E. Turpin, USN.    		 Robert Hurst
    Kalmia 211k Aerial view of Naval Operating Base, Portland, Maine waterfront, circa 1944-45, with the State Street pier in the right center and the Grand Trunk pier to the left. Tugs in the upper right center are USS Kalmia (ATO-23) and USS Iuka (ATO-37).
    US Navy photo # NH 84668 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, collection of Donald M. Mcpherson, 1976.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Kalmia (AT-23 /ATO-23)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    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 Fleet Tug Old (ATO) 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 14 January 2011