Kewaydin AT-24

Kewaydin

An Indian chief of what is now Michigan whose name meant "North Wind."

Kewaydin, a screw steamer, was laid down at Boston Navy Yard in 1864. but her hull was never completed. Renamed Pennsylvania 15 May 1869, she was broken up in 1884.

The double-turret monitor Kickapoo (q.v.) carried the name Cyclops from 15 June 1869 to 10 August when she was renamed Kewaydin. She saw no service as Kewaydin.

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(AT-24: dp. 795; 1. 156'8"; b. 30'2"; dr. 14'7"; s. 13 k.; cpl. 35; a. none; cl. Bagaduce)

Kewaydin (AT-24) was launched 25 June 1919 by Ferguson Steel & Iron Co., Buffalo, N.Y.; accepted by the Navy 31 October; and commissioned 4 November, Lt. M. A. McDuffie in command.

Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Kewaydin arrived Norfolk, Va., 19 June 1920. For more than 22 years she operated out of Norfolk from Boston, Mass., to Charleston, S.C., towing ships and targets and performing yard, harbor, and salvage duty. She departed New York 16 November 1942 with a Iceland-bound convoy and was damaged while steaming through heavy seas 19-27 November. After repairs at St. John's, Newfoundland, she arrived Hvalfjordur, Iceland, 22 December. Assigned to the Naval Operating Base, she towed gasoline barges, provided harbor tug services, and assisted in salvage operations. On 13 April 1943 she assisted in freeing Uranus (AF-14), grounded off Akureyri, along the northern coast of Iceland.

Kewaydin departed Reykjavik 19 April for Argentia, Newfoundland, where she arrived 28 April for duty as harbor tug and target-towing ship for Task Force 22. She served at Argentia until she sailed 2 June for Norfolk, arriving on the 7th. Resuming duty out of Norfolk, Kewaydin towed antisubmarine and surface targets in Chesapeake Bay and steamed from Maine to South Carolina on towing and salvage duty. While steaming off Cape Henry 17 and 18 November, she helped to free grounded Melville (AD-2) ; and, during towing operations along the New England coast 11 to 13 December, she searched for SS Suffolk, disabled in heavy seas.

Departing Charleston, S.C., 25 January 1944, Kewaydin steamed in convoy via Bermuda and the Azores for England. She reached Falmouth, England, 13 March, and for more than 2 months she made towing runs along the southern coast of England from Falmouth to the Thames River. Reclassified as ATO-24 on 13 April, Kewaydin joined in the Normandy Invasion. Departing Selsey, England, 8 June, she towed lightship AL-28 to Utah Beach at St. Laurent, France. Between 8 June and 14 January 1945 she made 22 Channel crossings. Although harassed by unfavorable weather and German V-1 robot-hombs, she towed barges and landing craft from Lee-on-Solent, Falmouth, Plymouth, Portland, and other English ports to St. Laurent, Arromanches, Cherbourg, and Calais, France. While anchored at Dungeness, England, 29 June, she was slightly damaged by a V-1 robot-bomb that exploded close aboard after being shot down by British fighters.

Kewaydin continued operating along the English coast until she departed Plymouth 16 March 1945 for the United States. Steaming via Belfast, Ireland, she reached Cape Cod., Mass., 12 April and arrived Norfolk 22 April. After a complete overhaul, she sailed 16 June with YR-31 in tow. Steaming via Bermuda, Cuba, and the Panama Canal, she reached San Diego 31 July as the Navy's final blows against Japan brought the war in the Pacific to a close. Kewaydin decommissioned at San Diego 10 December and was transferred to the Maritime Commission. She was sold to Bay Cities Transportation Co., San Francisco 23 December.

Kewaydin received one battle star for World War II service.