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USS Arapaho (AT-14)
Encyclopedia
USS Arapaho (AT-14/YT-121) was an Arapaho-class
Arapaho class fleet tug
Arapaho-class fleet tugs were ocean going tugboats placed in service with the US Navy in the early half of the 20th century....
fleet tug that performed various tugboat services for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was constructed in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
; however, she spent most of her working career on the U.S. East Coast, primarily at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
Launched in Seattle, Washington
The name Arapaho (sometimes spelled Arapahoe) was assigned on 9 May 1914 to a tug that had been laid down unnamed on 16 December 1913 at Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, by the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company. Launched on 20 June 1914, Arapaho was delivered to the Navy on 2 December 1914. Placed in an "in service" status as befitting a yard craft, Arapaho performed tug and tow duty at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
through 1917. Classified as a fleet tug on 15 December 1915, the ship was commissioned on 8 February 1918 at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
A. R. Hunter, USNRF, in command.
World War I service
Ordered to the Atlantic FleetUnited States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, Arapaho departed Mare Island, California on 25 February 1918 and, after transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, reached Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 6 April. The tug operated with the Atlantic Fleet, primarily out of Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, through the armistice of 11 November. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet Train, Arapaho towed target rafts and barges and performed routine mooring buoy maintenance at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and occasionally ranged with the fleet to Guantanamo and Guayancanabo Bays, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
Post-war service
During the fleet movement to Guantanamo in January 1920, Arapaho — in company with the minesweepers , , , and — towed target rafts and barges to Guantanamo for the fleet's use during the annual winter maneuvers there.Although detached from the Train on 1 January 1920, Arapaho was apparently not assigned to the 4th Naval District (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
) until 29 February. During the first year of operations out of her new home port and yard, she was classified as AT-14 during the fleet-wide assignment of alphanumeric hull numbers on 17 July. That autumn, in company with , she laid out a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
range from 19 October-1 November in the lower Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. Upon completion of this duty, Arapaho returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a resumption of her previous duties.
Decommissioning
Arapaho remained assigned to the 4th Naval District until decommissioned at Philadelphia on the afternoon of 6 April 1922. She remained in reserve there—reclassified, while inactive, as a yard tug YT-121 on 27 February 1936 — until struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 22 December. Two days later, Arapaho was ordered to be sold, and she was eventually purchased by A. S. Hughes' Sons, Philadelphia on 5 May 1937.