Transfer To Pacific
Late in October at the latter port, Arikara joined a convoy bound for the United States and headed home. She arrived in Norfolk on 7 November and remained in that vicinity into December. Late in that month, she voyaged to Trinidad where she took YFD-6 in tow before continuing on to the Panama Canal. Arikara reached the Canal Zone on 3 January 1945, transited the canal, and delivered her tow at Cristóbal on the 5th. The following day, she and Bannock (ATF-81) got underway for Hawaii. The tug entered Pearl Harbor later in January but remained there only until resuming her westward voyage on 4 February, bound ultimately for the Ryukyu Islands. After stops at Eniwetok and Guam, she reached Ulithi Atoll, in the Carolines, on 17 March. There, she reported for duty with Service Squadron (ServRon) 10 and began preparations for the conquest of Okinawa.
Ten days later, she departed Ulithi as part of Task Group (TG) 50.8, the 5th Fleet Logistics Support Group, and headed for the Ryukyu Islands. To begin the campaign, during the last week in March, American forces took Kerama Retto, a small group of islands about 15 miles west of southern Okinawa. Then, on 1 April, the main assault force landed on Okinawa proper. Arikara spent the next 11 weeks based at Kerama Retto assisting ships and craft damaged in the struggle for Okinawa. On the night of 2 April, the tug went to the assistance of USS Dickerson after that high-speed transport had suffered a devastating suicide crash from a Kawasaki Ki-45 "Nick" twin-engine reconnaissance/ground attack aircraft. Arikara's crew managed to extinguish the fires raging on board the Dickerson, and the tug took her in tow for Kerama Retto. In spite of Arikara's efforts, Dickerson proved to be beyond economical salvage and was towed out to sea on 4 April and sunk.
Although Arikara's main mission at Okinawa was the removal and salvage of damaged landing craft, kamikaze attacks continued to add to her burdens. On 11 May, a horde of suicide planes attacked USS Evans and USS Hugh W. Hadley on picket station no. 15 to the northwest of Okinawa. Arikara sped to the aid of Evans, which had sustained four suicide crashes in rapid succession. Arikara moved alongside her, put five pumps on board, made fast a hawser, and towed the destroyer into Kerama Retto for repairs.
A bit over a week later, on 17 May, USS Longshaw — her officers and crew drained by long hours at general quarters and a night of illumination fire in support of the troops ashore — ran aground on a reef near Naha while en route to yet another call fire mission. Arikara rushed to her aid. Just when she began taking up slack on the towline, a Japanese shore battery opened up on the stranded destroyer with uncanny accuracy. The enemy artillerists straddled Longshaw immediately, and quickly scored four hits. One of the four caused a forward magazine to detonate blowing off the bow forward of the bridge. With Longshaw a total loss, Arikara parted the towline and moved off to see to her own defense and to rescue survivors. Longshaw was later destroyed by "friendly" gunfire and torpedoes.
Arikara performed salvage work in the Ryūkyūs well into June. On the 19th of that month, she took kamikaze-damaged Evans in tow and set course for the Marianas. The tug arrived at Saipan on 25 June and remained there until 11 July. From Saipan, she sailed to Leyte where she stayed through 18 August when she got underway for Japan. The tug stopped at Okinawa before proceeding on to Kyushu. She returned to Okinawa briefly in September and then continued on to the Philippines. On 9 October, while still en route to Leyte, the ship weathered a severe typhoon. After reaching Subic Bay, she underwent repairs until getting underway late in November for China. Upon reaching Tsingtao, Arikara began towing and salvage work in support of occupation forces.
Late in February 1946, Arikara left China to resume operations in the eastern and Central Pacific. During the next few years, her towing and salvage operations took her to such varied locales as the Panama Canal Zone, the west coast of the United States, Hawaii, Okinawa, and the Marianas.
Read more about this topic: USS Arikara (ATF-98)
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