World War II Atlantic Service
The Arikara was laid down on 10 January 1943 at Charleston, South Carolina, by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Company; launched on 22 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Taylor F. McCoy; and commissioned on 5 January 1944, Lt. John Aitken, USNR, in command.
On 15 January, the tug departed Charleston bound for Hampton Roads, Virginia. After arriving there on the 17th, she conducted shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay until the 26th. Following a post-shakedown repair period in the Norfolk Navy Yard, she stood out of the bay and shaped a northerly course. After stopping briefly at New York, Arikara moved on to Casco Bay, Maine, where she operated between 10 February and 2 March towing targets and participating in antisubmarine warfare training. She returned to New York on 4 March and began preparations for service overseas. Towing barges, the tug put to sea on 25 March as part of Task Force (TF) 67 bound for the British Isles. She reached Falmouth, England, on 20 April and, after delivering the barges, reported for duty with the 12th Fleet.
On the 24th, Arikara moved to Lee-on-the-Solent to join the British tug fleet in preparing for the invasion of Europe. During the remainder of April and all of May, she towed to dispersal points on the southeastern coast of England portions of the two "mulberries," artificial harbors to be erected on the French coast after the initial assault to provide logistical support for the movement of all Allied armies inland. On 15 May 1944, she was reclassified a fleet tug and redesignated ATF-98. Throughout the period leading up to the invasion, Arikara helped to repel German air attacks; and, though near misses shook her considerably, she suffered neither hits nor significant damage from shell fragments.
Read more about this topic: USS Arikara (ATF-98)
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