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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Wenatchee (ATF-118)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Kilo - Quebec
 NFKQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS Wenatchee (ATF-118) was transferred to Taiwan and renamed ROCS Ta Fang (555)
Abnaki Class Fleet Ocean Tug:
  • Laid down, 12 January 1944, as Wenatchee (AT-118) at United Engineering Co., Alameda, CA.
  • Reclassified as Large Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF-118), 15 May 1944
  • Launched, 7 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS Wenatchee (ATF-118), 24 March 1945, LT. Walter C. Beatie, Jr., USNR in command
  • During WWII USS Wenatchee was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    3rd Fleet operations against Japan, 11 July to 15 August 1945

  • Following World War II USS Wenatchee was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September 1945 to 21 February 1946
  • USS Wenatchee (ATF-118) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.1 Service Group - Repair and Service Unit for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 19 May 1947, at Orange, TX.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 September 1962
  • USS Wenatchee earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Sold, to Taiwan under the Security Assistance Program and renamed ROCS Ta Fang (555)
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,205 t.(lt) 1,675 t.(fl)
    Length 205'
    Beam 38 6"
    Draft 15' 5" (lim)
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    5 Officers
    80 Enlisted
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    As Built
    four Busch-Sulzer (mod 12-278) Diesel-electric engines
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
     one Diesel-drive 200Kw 120V/240 D.C.
    Modernized
    four Alco Diesel 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
    USS Wenatchee (ATF-118)
    Wenatchee 805k Wenatchee (ATF-118) launching, 7 September 1944, at United Engineering Co., Alameda, CA. Note
    A US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Alan Owens
    Wenatchee 540k Wenatchee (ATF-118) moored at the fitting out pier United Engineering Co., Alameda, CA., 11 January 1945.
    A US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Alan Owens
    Pathfinder 150k Wenatchee fitting out at right of USS Pathfinder (AGS-1) at the United Engineering Co. Shipyard, Alameda, CA., 9 December 1944. Circles mark recent alterations. Note: YO-90 alongside Pathfinder and Wateree (ATF-117) fitting out astern of Wenatchee.
    United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-79511, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.    		 Mike Green
    Wenatchee 62k USS Wenatchee (ATF-118) underway, date and location unknown. Chuck Spencer for his father Charles Edward Spencer, Cox., V-6 USNR USS Wenatchee
    Wenatchee 196k USS Wenatchee (ATF-118) gathered mail from ships in her fleet service train 30.8 to transfer to USS Thetis Bay (CVE-90), 2 August 1945. Thetis Bay departed within hours of this activity to rotate back to Guam for replacement aircraft and pilots.
    Photo by George Silk, Life Magazine, who is headed for Guam also after a two week tour on Ticon. Used for educational and non-commercial purpose.    		 John Chiquoine
    ROCS Ta Fang (555)
    Wenatchee 30k Ex-USS Wenatchee (ATF-118) in Taiwanese service as ROCS Ta Fang (555). .
    USS Wenatchee (ATF-118)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Beatie, Jr., Walter Clarence, USNR24 March 1945 - September 1945
    02LT. Starr, Philip Alexander, USN (Ret.)September 1945 - November 1945
    03LT. Pierce, Theodore P., USNRNovember 1945 - January 1946
    04LT. Starr, Philip Alexander, USN (Ret.)January 1946 - 10 April 1946
    05LT. Pierce, Theodore P., USNR10 April 1946 - April 1947
    06CHBOSN. Isert, Raymond William, USNApril 1947 - 19 May 1947
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    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 17 July 2020