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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Chemung (YT-124)
ex
 USS Chemung (AT-18) (1920 - 1936)
 USS Chemung (Fleet Tug #18) (1918 - 1920)
 USS Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18) (1917 - 1918)


1927-International Radio Call Sign:
Negative - Affirmative - Roger - George
 NARG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
World War I Victory Medal (with Atlantic Fleet clasp)
Chemung Class Fleet Tug:
  • Laid down, 2 October 1915, as Pocahontas at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA.
  • Launched, 1 April 1916
  • Commissioned USS Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18), 14 March 1917, ChBOSN Bertram David USN in command
  • Renamed Chemung, 1 September 1917
  • Designated Fleet Tug (AT-18), 17 July 1920
  • Reclassified Harbor Tug (YT-124), 31 January 1926
  • Decommissioned, 25 October 1926
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 22 December 1936
  • Sold, 25 January 1937, to Gallagher Bros. Sand & Gravel Co. New York City, for $15,638.15, removed 12 February 1937
  • Renamed Peter C. Gallagher February 1937
  • Taken over by War Shipping Administration in August 1941 and chartered to Ministry of War Transport (MOWT), managed by Townsend Brothers (Ferries) Ltd. of London (registered under British flag with ON 180535 1945)
  • 1941-1945: served in Mediterranean
  • 1948: returned on paper to US custody
  • 1949: sold to M. Rempoulis & M. Scorda at Cairo, Egyptian flag
  • 1955: sold to Greek owners and converted to cargo vessel, renamed Evangellismos
  • Final Disposition, broken-up in 1970
    Specifications:
    Displacement 555 t.
    Length 123' 6"
    Beam 26' 8"
    Draft 11' 6"
    Speed 11 kts.
    Complement 46
    Armament two 3" guns
    Propulsion
    reciprocating steam engine
    single propeller

    US Navy Yard photo
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18)
    Chemung 668k (Pocahontas) "USS Chemung (Tug No. 18)" ...March 12, 1918 design plan for the tug Chemung (Tug No. 18) prepared by the Bureau of Construction and Repair's Preliminary Design staff on 12 March 1918, apparently for comparison with designs of new tugs then being developed for consideration for near-term construction. Chemung was designed for the U.S. Navy and built of steel at Norfolk Navy Yard during 1914 to 1917. Originally named Pocahontas, the vessel was renamed on 1 September 1917. Chemung was decommissioned in 1926 and discarded in 1937. This plan provides two 3-inch guns, reciprocating steam machinery, and a speed of 11 knots in a ship 115 feet long on the waterline, 25 feet in beam, and with a normal displacement of 555 tons. The original plan is in the 1911-1925 "Spring Styles Book" of the Bureau of Construction & Repair.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command (from the Online Library), Photo # S-584-077, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Chemung
    094701803    		 263k Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18) under construction at Norfolk, Navy Yard, 25 October 1915.
    US Navy Yard Norfolk photo # 1915-18    		 Brian Baird
    Chemung
    094701804    		 188k Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18) under construction at Norfolk, Navy Yard, 31 March 1916.
    US Navy Yard Norfolk photo # 1916-12    		 Brian Baird
    Chemung
    094701806    		 181k Launch of Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18) at the marine slipway Norfolk, Navy Yard, 1 April 1916.
    US Navy Yard Norfolk photo # 1916-13    		 Brian Baird
    USS Chemung (Fleet Tug No. 18)
    Chemung
    094701805    		 180k USS Chemung (Fleet Tug #18) moored pierside at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 4 February 1919. Brian Baird
    Chemung 59k USS Chemung (AT-18) underway, date and location unknown. David Wright
    USS Pocahontas (Fleet Tug #18) / USS Chemung (AT-18 / YT-124)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01ChBOSN. David, Bertram, USN14 March 1917 - 8 August 1918
    02LT. Johnsen, Niels Anton8 August 1918 - 20 December 1918
    03BOSN. Kyllberg Walter Harry20 December 1918 - 11 April 1919
    04LT. Ford, Sherman Upsher, USNRF11 April 1919 - 12 January 1922
    05ChBOSN. Webber, Frederick Benjamin12 January 1922 - 20 September 1923
    06ChBOSN. Adkins, Lewis Warner20 September 1923 - 25 October 1925
    07ChBOSN. Ahrens, William Francis25 October 1925 - 25 October 1926
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Russ Moody
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Yard and District Craft Index Fleet Tug Index (AT) Back To The District Harbor Tug (YT) Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 29 June 2022