Yaquima YT-171

Yaquima
(YT-171: 1. 113'0"; b. 26'0"; dr. 13'8" (max.); a. 2
.30-car. ma. )

Dauntless No. 14—a steel-hulled, single-screw, dieselpowered tug—was built in 1940 by the Jacobson Shipyards of Oyster Bay, Long Island, N.Y. for the Dauntless Towing Line, Inc., of New York City. Acquired by the Navy on 6 January 1941, Dauntless No. 14 was renamed Yaquima and classified as YT-171—a harbor tug—on 9 January. Converted for naval service at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard, Yaquima either was placed "in service" or was ready for service on 9 March. Other records indicate another "in service" date, 18 April 1941, which was probably the day that the vessel actually began her operations in the 1st Naval District.

She served a brief tour of duty at New London, Conn., from 16 July to 11 August and then resumed service at Portsmouth. The ship was equipped with a decompression chamber and minor diving equipment at that time, so it is likely that the craft was used as a back-up submarine rescue vessel. In any event, Yaquima performed tug and tow service at Portsmouth for the duration of World War II. During that time, she was reclassified a large harbor tug, YTB-171, on 16 May 1944.

Subsequently placed out of service at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 3 December 1946, Yaquima was struck from the Navy list on 8 May 1946 and turned over to the War Shipping Administration for further disposition on 7 June of the same year.