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{{short description|Tugboat of the United States Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{other ships|USS Tonkawa}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=USS ''ATR-103''
|Ship namesake=the [[Tonkawa]]
|Ship builder=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship laid down=30 January 1944
|Ship launched=1 March 1944
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship completed=
|Ship renamed=USS ''ATA-176'', 15 May 1944
|Ship commissioned=19 August 1944
|Ship decommissioned=30 June 1947
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=yes
|Ship in service=30 June 1947
|Ship renamed=USNS ''Tonkawa'' (T-ATA-176), 16 July 1948
|Ship out of service=8 May 1956
|Ship struck=1 August 1961
|Ship fate=Transferred to the [[Republic of China Navy]], April 1962
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Taiwan
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Republic of China|naval}}
|Ship name= ROCS ''Ta Sueh'' (ATA-547)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=April 1962
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship struck=
|Ship fate=unknown
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass|ATR-1|rescue tug|1}}
|Ship displacement=835 t.(fl)
|Ship length={{convert|143|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=diesel-electric single propeller
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed=13 kts
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=45
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=one [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] dual purpose gun mount
|Ship armour=
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|Ship aircraft=
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|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''ATA-176''''' was an {{sclass|ATR-1|rescue tug}} built for the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. She was laid down on 30 January 1944 and [[launched (ship)|launched]] on 1 March as '''USS ''ATR-103''''', but was re-designated ''ATA-176'' on 15 May. She was commissioned as USS ''ATA-176'' on 19 August. She served in the [[U.S. Pacific Fleet]] during the war and was decommissioned on 30 June 1947. She was then crewed with civilians and placed in service, being renamed '''USNS ''Tonkawa'' (T-ATA-176)''' on 16 July 1948. ''Tonkawa'', the first U.S. Navy vessel named for the [[Tonkawa]], was taken out of service in 1956 and placed in reserve.

''Tonkawa'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 August 1961, and transferred to the [[Republic of China]] in April 1962. In the service of the [[Republic of China Navy]], she was renamed '''ROCS ''Ta Sueh'' (ATA-547)'''. Her fate in Chinese service is not reported in [[secondary source]]s.

== Career ==
The first [[Tonkawa]] to bear the name, she was laid down as ''ATR-103'' on 30 January 1944 at [[Orange, Texas]], by the [[Levingston Shipbuilding]] Co.; launched on 1 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. R. F. Parker; redesignated ''ATA-176'' on 15 May 1944; and commissioned on 19 August 1944.

After a brief [[shakedown cruise]] in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], the auxiliary ocean tug stood out of [[Galveston, Texas]], on 22 September bound, via [[Miami]], Florida, for the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. She arrived at [[Colón, Panama|Colon]] on 4 October and departed [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] on the 20th for the South [[Pacific Ocean]]. ''ATA-176'' called at [[Bora Bora|Borabora]] and [[Manus Island|Manus]] before anchoring in [[Milne Bay]], [[New Guinea]], on 20 December.

Assigned to the [[Service Force, Pacific Fleet]], the tug got underway on 30 December 1944 for [[Jayapura|Hollandia]] and arrived on 5 January 1945. She took [[USS Etamin (IX-173)|''Etamin'']] (IX-173) in tow and sortied with a convoy for the [[Philippines]] on the 10th. She arrived at [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]] on the 22d and returned to [[Yos Sudarso Bay|Humboldt Bay]] on 12 February. During the next eight months, ''ATA-176'' operated between ports in [[New Guinea]], [[Emirau]], [[Morotai]], [[Borneo]], and various Philippine islands.

On 20 October 1945, the auxiliary tug stood out of [[Manila]] to search for a [[U.S. Army]] [[barge]] that had been reported adrift to the northwest. She found the barge on the 26th and towed it to [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]]. ''ATA-176'' then returned to [[Manila Bay]] on 5 November 1945. After operations in the [[Philippines]], she called at [[Guam]] in April 1946 and left [[Apra Harbor]] on 2 May towing {{USS|AFD-3||2}} to [[Midway Island]]. She delivered her charge there on the 15th and headed for the [[United States]]. The tug arrived at [[San Francisco]], California, on 1 June and remained at the Naval Supply Depot, [[Oakland, California]], with a crew supplied by the [[12th Naval District]] until 30 June 1947. On that day, ''ATA-176'' was decommissioned and placed "in service," taking on a civilian crew. On 16 July 1948, the ship was given the name ''Tonkawa'', becoming the first U.S. Navy vessels named after the [[Tonkawa]].

''Towkawa'' served in the 12th Naval District until 8 May 1956 when she was placed out of service, in reserve. ''Tonkawa'' was struck from the [[Navy list]] on 1 August 1961. She was transferred to [[Taiwan]] in April 1962 under the [[Security Assistance Program]] (SAP) and renamed ROCS ''Ta Sueh'' (ATA-547). Her final fate is not known.

== References ==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tonkawa-i.html}}

== External links ==
* {{navsource|09/38/38176}}

{{Sotoyomo class tug}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonkawa (ATA-176)}}
[[Category:Sotoyomo-class tugs]]
[[Category:ATR-1-class rescue tugs]]
[[Category:Ships built in Orange, Texas]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of China Navy]]
[[Category:Sotoyomo-class tugs of the Republic of China Navy]]

USS Tonkawa (ATA-176) - Revision history

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