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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Tunica (ATA-178)
ex
 USS ATA-178 (1944 - 1948)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Papa - Xray
 NJPX
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Sotoyomo Class Auxiliary Fleet Tug:
  • Laid down, 10 May 1944, as Rescue Ocean Tug ATR-105, at Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, TX.
  • Reclassified Auxiliary Fleet Tug (ATA-178), 15 May 1944
  • Launched, 15 June 1944
  • Commissioned, USS ATA-178, 15 September 1944, LT. James L. Robinson, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS ATA-178 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 23 September 1947
  • Laid up in the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • Named, Tunica (ATA-178), 16 July 1948
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration ,12 October 1961, for lay-up with the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Struck from the Naval Register and permanently transferred to the Maritime Administration, 1 September 1962
  • Withdrawn from reserve by the Navy, 27 August 1986, for use as a training hulk by Mobile Salvage and Diving Unit One (MDSU-1) at Pearl Harbor, HI.
  • Final disposition, sunk as a target, 29 January 1999
    Specifications:
    Displacement 835 t.(lt) 1,360 t.(fl)
    Length 143'
    Beam 33' 10"
    Draft 13' 2" (limiting)
    Speed 12 kts.
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
    Complement
    Officers 5
    Enlisted 40
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,200 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two GM 12-278A Diesel-electric engines
    single Fairbanks Morse Main Reduction Gear
    Ship's Service Generators
    two 60Kw 120V. D.C.
    single propeller, 1,200shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Tunica 116k Ex-Tunica (ATA-178) in service as a training hulk for Mobile Salvage and Diving Unit One (MDSU-1) at Pearl Harbor, HI., date and location unknown.
    Photo from Wikipedia    		 Rob Larson
    Tunica 117k
    Tunica 130k
    Tunica 57k
    Salvor 186k Looking aft from the port bridge wing of USS Salvor (ARS-52) during salvage training in East Loch, Pearl Harbor Hawaii in 1996. The stern of the intentionally stranded salvage training hulk ex-USS Tunica (ATA-178) can be seen in the distance. Inflatable buoys are being used to float Salvor's port main towing hawser to the stranded wreck. Some details of Salvor's 40-ton capacity aft boom are seen in the foreground. One of Salvor's two 35-foot work boats can be seen at right.
    Image courtesy of Pamcwill (real name unknown).    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Tunica (ATA-178)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Robinson, James L., USNR15 September 1944 - December 1944
    02LT. Bergestad, Ralph Harold, USNDecember 1944 - September 1945
    03LTjg. Brown, Donald Wynn, USNSeptember 1945 - March 1946
    04LTjg. Fleming, Benton S., USNRMarch 1946 - June 1946
    05ENS. Edmunds, Robert T., USNRJune 1946 - August 1946
    06LCDR. Hayes, William Richard Joseph, USNAugust 1946 - ?
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    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
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Auxiliary Fleet Tug Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 22 May 2020