Cherokee-class tugboat

The Cherokee class of fleet tugboats, originally known as the Navajo class, were built for the United States Navy prior to the start of World War II. 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 205 ft length, 38 ft beam, and substantial fuel-carrying capacity. They were also the first large surface vessels in the US Navy to be equipped with diesel/electric drive.



The first three vessels, Navajo, Seminole and Cherokee, were constructed from 1938–1940 at the Staten Island Shipyard division of Bethlehem Steel Corp. Navajo and Seminole joined the Pacific fleet in 1940, and Cherokee to the Atlantic fleet. Navajo was en route to San Diego from Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and immediately reversed course back to Pearl Harbor once news broke of the 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.

Ships

 * USS Apache (ATF-67)
 * USS Arapaho (ATF-68)
 * USS Bannock (ATF-81)
 * USS Carib (AT-82)
 * USS Chilula (ATF-153)
 * USS Cherokee (AT-66)
 * USS Chickasaw (AT-83)
 * USS Chippewa (AT-69)
 * USS Choctaw (AT-70)
 * USS Cree (ATF-84)


 * USS Hopi (AT-71)
 * USS Kiowa (AT-72)
 * USS Lipan (AT-85)
 * USS Mataco (AT-86)
 * USS Menominee (AT-73)
 * USS Moreno (AT-87)
 * USS Narragansett (AT-88)
 * USS Nauset (AT-89)
 * USS Navajo (AT-64)
 * USS Pawnee (ATF-74)


 * USS Pinto (AT-90)
 * USS Seminole (AT-65)
 * USS Seneca (AT-91)
 * USS Sioux (AT-75) Still in service as of April 2017 (Turkish Navy)
 * USS Tawasa (AT-92)
 * USS Tekesta (AT-93)
 * USS Ute (AT-76)
 * USS Yuma (AT-94)
 * USS Zuni (ATF-95)