USS Arikara (ATF-98) - Mediterranean Service

Mediterranean Service

Early in July, Arikara and USS Pinto received orders to return to England. From there, the two tugs set out on 12 July in a convoy bound for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Her convoy arrived at Oran, Algeria, on the 21st; but Arikara remained there only until the end of the month. She headed for Italy on 1 August, reached Naples on the 3d, and joined Rear Admiral Spencer S. Lewis' TF 87, code-named "Camel" Force, for the mid-August invasion of southern France. Staged through Ajaccio, Corsica, Arikara's unit, the force's salvage and fire-fighting group, arrived off St. Raphael on the Mediterranean coast of France on the morning of 15 August, the day of the assault. For more than a fortnight, the tug remained in the transport area, salvaging damaged ships and landing craft, fighting fires, and keeping the approaches to the beach clear of wrecks. On 2 September, she moved to the Gulf of San Tropez, France, and began clearing wreckage from French Riviera ports. She also towed ships to Palermo, Sicily, where they underwent repairs. In addition, she made towing voyages to Naples, Marseilles, Bizerte, and Oran.