USS Sagamore (ATA-208)
{{short description|Tugboat of the United States Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Sagamore}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Image:Sagamore (ATA-208).jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag= {{USN flag|1979}} |Ship name= USS Sagamore (ATA-208) |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder =Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works, Port Arthur, TX |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= 27 November 1944 |Ship launched= 17 January 1945 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= USS ATA-208, 19 March 1945 |Ship renamed= USS Sagamore (ATA-208), 16 July 1948 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship decommissioned=1 February 1972 |Ship fate =Transferred to the Dominican Republic, 1 February 1972. }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header = title |Ship country = Dominican Republic |Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Dominican Republic|naval}} |Ship acquired = 1 February 1972 |Ship name = Caonabo (RM-18) |Ship commissioned = 16 February 1972 |Ship decommissioned = |Ship refit = |Ship identification = |Ship motto = |Ship nickname = |Ship honors = |Ship fate = Returned to US Naval custody 15 September 1979 |Ship notes = |Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=United States |Ship flag= {{USN flag|1979}} |Ship reacquired = 15 September 1979 |Ship struck= 15 September 1979 |Ship fate =Sold for scrapping 12 January 1994. }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header = |Header caption = |Ship class = {{sclass|Sotoyomo|auxiliary fleet tug}} |Ship type = |Ship displacement = 534 t. (Long tons) 835 t. Full load |Ship length = {{convert|143|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam = {{convert|33|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |Ship height = |Ship draft = {{convert|15|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth = |Ship power = |Ship propulsion = diesel-electric engines, single screw |Ship sail plan = |Ship speed = {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range = |Ship complement = 45 |Ship crew = |Ship time to activate = |Ship armament = *1 × single 3"/50 caliber gun
|Ship notes = }} |
USS Sagamore (ATA-208), originally designated ATR-135, was laid down simply as ATA-208 on 27 November 1944 by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas; launched on 17 January 1945; and commissioned on 19 March 1945. She was the third United States Navy ship named "Sagamore" — an Algonquian term for chief.
Following shakedown off the Texas coast, ATA-208 departed Galveston on 18 April for Hawaii and general towing duty in the Pacific. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 2 June, she operated as a unit of Service Squadron Two (ServRon 2) for the remainder of the year on towing assignments that took her east to California and west to Okinawa. With the new year, 1946, ATA-208 was reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet. On 2 February, she arrived at Norfolk and reported to the Commandant of the 5th Naval District for operational and administrative control. Named Sagamore on 16 July 1948, she continued general towing duty, ranging the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Primarily engaged in coastal operations, Sagamore towed {{USS|Cod|SS-224}} from New London, Connecticut, to Cleveland, Ohio, via the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959; assisted in the consolidation of the reserve fleets in 1960; and towed APL-41 from Mayport, Florida, to Holy Loch, Scotland, in 1961. In May 1964, she participated in mine recovery operations off the Carolines; then, during the summer, supported Operation “SeaLab I” which proved that man could survive under the sea for extended periods. From 18 June to 13 August, she towed YFBN-12, the "mother ship" of the project in the Bermuda area.
Often called upon for target towing and torpedo recovery operations in addition to her primary mission of towing at sea and her secondary mission of emergency rescue and salvage, Sagamore continued to serve the Atlantic Fleet until February 1972.
''Caonabo'' (RM-18)
The ship was leased to the Dominican Republic under terms of the Mutual Defense Program, on 1 February 1972 and commissioned in the Dominican Navy on the 16th as Caonabo (RM-18).
Seven years later, she was returned to US Naval custody, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register, on 15 September 1979.
The ship was sold for scrapping by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), on 12 January 1994.
References
- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s2/sagamore-iii.htm}}
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/38/38208.htm Online: Service Ship Photo Archive USS Sagamore (ATA-208)]
{{Sotoyomo class tug}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagamore}}