USS Challenge (ATA-201)

USS Challenge (ATA-201) was a Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug acquired by the United States Navy for service during and after World War II.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Challenge.
History
United States
Name: USS Challenge
Ordered: as Rescue Ocean Tug ATR-128, redesignated Auxiliary Fleet Tug ATA-201, 15 May 1944
Builder: Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas
Laid down: 3 August 1944
Launched: 23 September 1944
Acquired: 22 November 1944
Commissioned: 15 September 1944
Decommissioned: 23 December 1947
Renamed: Challenge (ATA-201), 16 July 1948
Stricken: 1 September 1962
Identification:
Status: In service as Saje Commander
General characteristics
Class and type: Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug
Displacement:
  • 610 long tons (620 t) light
  • 860 long tons (874 t) full
Length: 143 ft (44 m)
Beam: 34 ft (10 m)
Draft: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric engines, single screw
Speed: 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement: 7 officers, 42 enlisted men
Armament:

Challenge was planned and authorized as Rescue Ocean Tug ATR-128 and was reclassified Auxiliary Fleet Tug ATA-201, 15 May 1944. She was laid down on 3 August 1944 at Gulfport Boiler & Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas, launched on 23 September 1944, delivered to the Navy on 22 November 1944, commissioned as USS ATA-201 on 15 September 1944.

East Coast activity

Challenge served on the U.S. East Coast. Very little data is available. However, Navy records indicate she towed Bangust (DE-739) from Green Cove Springs, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1947.

Final disposition

Challenge was decommissioned on 23 December 1947 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 September 1962. The ship was named USS Challenge (ATA-201) on 16 July 1948. She was sold for scrapping on 1 October 1976 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, but was resold in 1978 into commercial service. As of 2017, she was operating out of Honduras under the name Saje Commander.

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  • Photo gallery of USS Challenge (ATR-128/ATA-201) at NavSource Naval History
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