Tatarrax YTB-372

Tatarrax
(YTB-372: dp. 206, 1. 102'2" b. 24'0" dr. 9'7";
s. 12 k.; cpl. 12; cl. 'Allaquippa)

Tatarrax (YTB-372) was laid down as YT-372 at Port Arthur, Tex., during the winter of 1943 and 1944 launched on 8 April 1944; redesignated YTB-372 and placed in service on 15 May 1944.

Tatarrax departed Galveston on 14 June, transited the Panama Canal on the 27th, and reported for duty with the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Area. The large harbor tug cleared Balboa on 11 July and arrived in Pearl Harbor on 16 August. By late September, the tug was operating in the Marshall Islands at Eniwetok Atoll. From there, she moved to the Caroline Islands, arriving at Ulithi on Christmas Eve 1944. In August 1945, Tatarrar moved to the Philippines, reaching Leyte on the 28th. She operated there until the spring of 1946 when she headed for the west coast of the United States.

The tug reached Astoria, Oreg., on 3 June and commenced preinactivation overhaul. On 24 October 1946, she was placed out of service, in reserve, and berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Tatarrax was placed back in service in 1958. She was assigned to the 14th Naval District, and a record exists of her transfer to the Atomic Energy Commission on 15 May 1958, presumably to assist in conducting experiments. The tug remained active in the 14th Naval District until November 1972 when a survey found her to be unfit for further naval service. During that period, she was redesignated a medium harbor tug YTM-372. Tatarrax was struck from the Navy list on i May 1973. She subsequently transferred to the University of Hawaii for use in experiments involving the generation of fuel hydrogen from sea water.