Fleet Tug (AT)

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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Esselen (ATO-147)
ex
 USS Esselen (AT-147) (1943- 1944)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Foxtrot - Bravo
 NGFB
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Fleet Tug:
  • Laid down in 1893 as the civilian steam tug Catawissa by Harlan and Hollingsworth Co., Wilmington, DL.
  • Completed in 1897
  • Designated ID-1118 in 1917, not acquired by the Navy
  • Renamed New York in 1941
  • Designated CGR-1902 while in wartime merchant service as the steam tug New York
  • Acquired by the Navy,18 June 1943
  • Commissioned USS Esselen (AT-147), 21 August 1943, LT. Frank H. Watts, in command
  • Redesignated Fleet Tug, Old ATO-147, 15 May 1944
  • Decommissioned, 11 November 1944 at New York, N.Y.
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration, 11 November 1944 for disposal, named reverted to New York
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 27 November 1944
  • Sold for merchant service in 1944 by the War Shipping Command in 1944
  • Merchant Service
    Sold to Beth Tank Co., New York, renamed Beth Tank Ship No.2
    Downgraded to a hulk in 1952 used for steam-cleaning tanks of empty oil tankers
    Renamed Tank Master No.1 in 1963
    Scrapped in 2008 at Perth Amboy, N.J.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 800 t.(lt) 1,385 t.(fl)
    Length 158'
    Beam 29'
    Draft 15'
    Speed 11kts.
    Propulsion
    one 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Esselen 156k Most of the steam tug Catawissa's career was spent towing coal barges along the U.S. East Coast for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad. Posted on Flickr by Keyport-Kid, used with permission. Photo courtesy Shipscribe.com. Robert Hurst
    Esselen 90k Steam tug Catawissa under way in New York harbor.
    The Steamship Historical Society of America, Photo No. 8969 (Parslow Coll.), used with permission, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Esselen 103k Steam tug New York (ex-Catawissa) under way with tow, probably in New York harbor, circa 1942.
    The Steamship Historical Society of America, used with permission, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Esselen (AT-147 / ATO-147)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 20 November 2015