View source for Cherokee-class tugboat

{{Short description|Class of armed tugboats}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Cree (ATF-84) underway c1970.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Cree'' (ATF-84) underway in 1970
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=
|Builders=* [[Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company|Charleston SB & DD]], SC (9)
* [[United Engineering Co.]], CA (8)
* [[Cramp Shipbuilding]], PA (5)
* [[Commercial Iron Works]], OR (4)
* [[Bethlehem Staten Island]], NY (3)
|Operators=* {{Navy|United States}}
* {{coast guard|United States}}
* {{Navy|Argentina}}
* {{Navy|Chile}}
* {{Navy|Colombia}}
* {{Naval|Dominican Republic}}
* {{Navy|Indonesia}}
* {{Naval|Pakistan}}
* {{Navy|Peru}}
* {{Navy|Taiwan}}
* {{Navy|Turkey}}
*{{naval|Brazil}}
|Class before={{sclass|Bagaduce|tugboat|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Abnaki|tugboat|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range= 1938–1943
|In service range=1940–1994 (US)
|In commission range=
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned= 33
|Total ships completed=29
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=2
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=2
|Total ships retired=25
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Tugboat|Fleet tugboat]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|1235|LT|t|0|lk=in}}
|Ship length= {{convert|205|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|38|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft={{convert|18|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=[[Diesel–electric transmission|Diesel-electric]], 1 shaft, {{convert|3600|hp|0|abbr=on}} <ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=19kDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1933+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA865  "Huge Diesel Electric Tugs Attend Fleet At Sea"] ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1940</ref>
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed= {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement= 85+
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=* 1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun]]
* 2 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] guns
* 2 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] guns
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Cherokee'' class''' of [[Tugboat|fleet tugboats]], originally known as the '''''Navajo'' class''', were built for the [[United States Navy]] prior to the start of [[World War II]].<ref name=uboat>{{cite web|title=Navajo class|url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/class/455.html|website=Uboat.net|accessdate=22 July 2015}}</ref> They represented a radical departure from previous ocean-going tug designs, and were far more capable of extended open ocean travel than their predecessors. This was due in large part to their length of {{convert|205|ft}}, {{convert|38|ft}} beam, and substantial fuel-carrying capacity. They were also the first large surface vessels in the United States Navy to be equipped with [[Diesel–electric transmission|Diesel-electric]] drive.<ref name=uboat/>

[[File:USS Tawasa (ATF-92).jpg|thumb|{{USS|Tawasa|AT-92|6}} towed a nuclear bomb used as a nuclear [[depth charge]] as it was detonated in [[Operation Wigwam]] in 1955]]
[[File:ROCN ATF-555 right side and Keelung Customs Building 20190928 night.jpg|alt=A ship docking in harbor|thumb|''Ta Feng'', ex-[[USS Narragansett (AT-88)|USS ''Narragansett'']] at [[Keelung]] harbor, September 28, 2019]]

The first three vessels, {{USS|Navajo|AT-64|2}}, {{USS|Seminole|AT-65|2}} and {{USS|Cherokee|AT-66|2}}, were constructed from 1938 to 1940 at the [[Bethlehem Staten Island]] division of [[Bethlehem Steel]]. ''Navajo'' and ''Seminole'' joined the Pacific fleet in 1940, and ''Cherokee'' went to the Atlantic fleet. ''Navajo'' was en route to [[San Diego]] from [[Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, and immediately reversed course to Pearl Harbor once news broke of the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Japanese attack]]. She became a critical element of salvage operations there, as did her [[sister ship]] ''Seminole'', in the days following the attack.

Following the loss during World War II of the first two ships of the class, ''Navajo'' and ''Seminole'', the class was renamed from its original pre-war name of ''Navajo'' class to ''Cherokee'' class, the name of the third ship laid in 1939, which still survived.<ref>{{cite book |last=Polmar |first=Norman |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8MwyTX-iA2wC&q=Navajo+class+tugboat&pg=PA282 |title=The Naval Institute Guide To The Ships And Aircraft Of The U.S. Fleet |edition=18th |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=United States Naval Institute |isbn=978-1591146858 |pages=282}}</ref>

==Ships==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Ship name
!Hull
!Builder
!{{tooltip|Comm.|Commissioned}}
!{{tooltip|Decomm.|Decommissioned}}
!Fate/status
|-
 | [[USS Navajo (AT-64)|''Navajo'']]
 | AT-64
 | rowspan="3" | [[Bethlehem Staten Island]]
 | 26 Jan 1940
 | n/a
 | Sunk, 12 September 1943
|-
   | [[USS Seminole (AT-65)|''Seminole'']]
   | AT-65
   | 8 Mar 1940
   | n/a
   | Sunk, 25 October 1942
|-
   | [[USS Cherokee (AT-66)|''Cherokee'']]
   | AT-66
   | 26 Apr 1940
   | 29 Jun 1946
   | Transferred to [[United States Coast Guard]]; sunk as a target, 1992
|-
   | [[USS Apache (ATF-67)|''Apache'']]
   | AT-67
   | rowspan="6" | [[Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]
   | 12 Dec 1942
   | 27 Feb 1974
   | Transferred to [[Taiwan]], 1 June 1974; stranded in action 1985; after rebuild currently active (only the bridge and the mast are retrieved)
|-
   | [[USS Arapaho (ATF-68)|''Arapaho'']]
   | AT-68
   | 20 Jan 1943
   | 15 Jan 1947
   | Transferred to [[Argentina]], 1961; wrecked 10 January 1976
|-
   | [[USS Chippewa (AT-69)|''Chippewa'']]
   | AT-69
   | 14 Feb 1943
   | 26 Feb 1947
   | Sunk as an artificial reef, 8 February 1990
|-
   | [[USS Choctaw (AT-70)|''Choctaw'']]
   | AT-70
   | 21 Apr 1943
   | 11 Mar 1947
   | Transferred, to [[Colombia]], 1 March 1978; fate unknown
|-
   | [[USS Hopi (AT-71)|''Hopi'']]
   | AT-71
   | 31 Mar 1943
   | 9 Dec 1955
   | joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. turned over to the Maritime Administration 27 March 1962 and moved to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Va., where she remains, following permanent transfer to the Maritime Administration 1 July 1963, into 1967.
|-
   | [[USS Kiowa (AT-72)|''Kiowa'']]
   | AT-72
   | 7 Jun 1943
   | n/a
   | Sold to [[Dominican Republic]], 1972; sold for scrap, 12 December 1994
|-
   | [[USS Menominee (AT-73)|''Menominee'']]
   | AT-73
   | rowspan=4 | [[United Engineering Company]]
   | 25 Sep 1942
   | 15 Nov 1946
   | Transferred to [[Indonesia]], 26 January 1961; sunk as a target in 2004<ref>{{Cite web|title=KRI Nanggala-402, Submarine Purchased 1982 From Germany, Most Senior In Indonesian Navy|url=https://voi.id/en/news/46133/kri-nanggala-402-submarine-purchased-1982-from-germany-most-senior-in-indonesian-navy|date=21 Apr 2021|website=VOI – Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan|access-date=23 April 2021|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422025025/https://voi.id/en/news/46133/kri-nanggala-402-submarine-purchased-1982-from-germany-most-senior-in-indonesian-navy|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
   | [[USS Pawnee (ATF-74)|''Pawnee'']]
   | AT-74
   | 7 Nov 1942
   | Jan 1947
   | Sold for scrap, 9 November 1971
|-
   | [[USS Sioux (AT-75)|''Sioux'']]
   | AT-75
   | 6 Dec 1942
   | 15 Aug 1973
   | Transferred to [[Turkey]], 15 August 1973; decommissioned in 2017, sunk as target 2023
|-
   | [[USS Ute (AT-76)|''Ute'']]
   | AT-76
   | 13 Dec 1942
   | 30 Aug 1974
   | Sunk as a target, 4 August 1991
|-
   |
   | {{ubl|AT-77|AT-78|AT-79|AT-80}}
   |colspan=5 align=center |cancelled
|-
   | [[USS Bannock|''Bannock'']]
   | AT-81
   | rowspan=2 | [[Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]
   | 28 Jun 1942
   | 25 Nov 1955
   | Sold for scrap, late 1950s
|-
   | [[USS Carib (AT-82)|''Carib'']]
   | AT-82
   | 24 Jul 1943
   | 24 Jan 1947
   | Transferred to [[Colombia]], 14 February 1978; sunk as a target, June 2007
|-
   | [[USS Chickasaw (AT-83)|''Chickasaw'']]
   | AT-83
   | rowspan=4 | [[United Engineering Company]]
   | 4 Feb 1943
   | 30 Jun 1965
   | Transferred to [[Taiwan]], 1 May 1976; decommissioned, 16 Jul 1999
|-
   | [[USS Cree (ATF-84)|''Cree'']]
   | AT-84
   | 28 Mar 1943
   | n/a
   | Sunk as a target, 27 August 1978
|-
   | [[USS Lipan (AT-85)|''Lipan'']]
   | AT-85
   | 29 Apr 1943
   | 31 Mar 1988
   | Sunk as a target, 22 January 1990
|-
   | [[USS Mataco (AT-86)|''Mataco'']]
   | AT-86
   | 29 May 1943
   | 1 Oct 1977
   | Sold for scrap, 1 April 1979
|-
   | [[USS Moreno (AT-87)|''Moreno'']]
   | AT-87
   | rowspan=5 | [[Cramp Shipbuilding]]
   | 30 Nov 1942
   | 18 Aug 1946
   | Sunk as a target, 6 October 1988
|-
   | [[USS Narragansett (AT-88)|''Narragansett'']]
   | AT-88
   | 15 Jan 1943
   | 21 Dec 1946
   | Transferred to [[Taiwan]], 20 June 1991; decommissioned, 1 October 2021
|-
   | [[USS Nauset (AT-89)|''Nauset'']]
   | AT-89
   | 2 Mar 1943
   | n/a
   | Sunk, 9 September 1943
|-
   | [[USS Pinto (AT-90)|''Pinto'']]
   | AT-90
   | 1 Apr 1943
   | 11 Jul 1946
   | Transferred to Peru, 1 May 1974; active as of 2019
|-
   | [[USS Seneca (AT-91)|''Seneca'']]
   | AT-91
   | 30 Apr 1943
   | Jul 1971
   | Sunk as a target, 21 July 2003
|-
   | [[USS Tawasa (AT-92)|''Tawasa'']]
   | AT-92
   | rowspan=4 | [[Commercial Iron Works]]
   | 17 Jul 1943
   | 31 Mar 1975
   | Sold for scrap, 1 August 1976
|-
   | [[USS Tekesta (AT-93)|''Tekesta'']]
   | AT-93
   | 16 Aug 1943
   | 14 Apr 1950
   | Transferred to [[Chile]], May 1960; Sunk as a target, 5 July 1999
|-
   | [[USS Yuma (AT-94)|''Yuma'']]
   | AT-94
   | 31 Aug 1943
   | 11 Nov 1955
   | Transferred to Pakistan, 25 March 1959; decommissioned in 1993; fate unknown after.
|-
   | [[USS Zuni (ATF-95)|''Zuni'']]
   | AT-95
   | 9 Oct 1943
   | 1 Feb 1994
   | Sunk as an [[artificial reef]], 10 May 2017
|-
   | [[USS Chilula (AT-153)|''Chilula'']]*
   | AT-153
   | [[Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]
   | 5 Apr 1945
   | 19 Jun 1991
   | Sunk as a target, 1997
|}

(*)Note: The reason for the gap in numbering from AT-95 to AT-153 is unknown.

==See also==
* {{sclass|Sotoyomo|tugboat|1}}
* [[Type V ship|Type V ship – Tugs]]
* [[List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy]]

== References ==
{{DANFS}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Navajo class tugs}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navajo class fleet tug}}
[[Category:Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Cherokee-class fleet tugs| ]]
[[Category:Auxiliary tugboat classes]]