USS Achigan

USS Achigan (YTB-218) alongside an unidentified ship, date and location unknown. US Navy photo for the US Navy Memorial collection.
History
United States
Name	Achigan
Namesake	Algonquian Ashigan (Smallmouth bass)
Builder	W. A. Robinson, Ipswich, Massachusetts
Laid down	23 July 1944
Launched	4 October 1944
In service	9 January 1945
Out of service	1957
Reclassified	YTB-218, 15 May 1944
Identification	Hull symbol: YT-215 Hull symbol: YTB-215 Call sign: NUVD
Fate	Disposed, 1957
General characteristics
Class and type	Cahto-class large harbor tug
Displacement	410 long tons (420 t)
Length	110 ft (34 m)
Beam	27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft	11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)
Installed power	1,000 shp (750 kW)
Propulsion	Diesel engine 1 × Screw
Speed	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	12
Armament	2 × .50-caliber machine guns

USS Achigan (YT/YTB-218) was a Cahto-class large harbor tug in the service of the United States Navy. A French-Canadian rendering of the word ashigan which, in Chippewa and Algonquian dialects, is the name of the smallmouth bass.

Construction

Achigan (YT-218) was laid down on 23 July 1943, at Ipswich, Massachusetts, by W. A. Robinson, Inc.; reclassified a large harbor tug YTB-218 on 15 May 1944; launched on 4 October 1944; and placed in service on 9 January 1945.

Service history

Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Achigan spent most of her naval career at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. On the afternoon of 8 January 1946, she sank at Philadelphia, as a result of a collision with General J. C. Breckinridge (AP-176). Later salvaged, the tug returned to service at Philadelphia, in mid-1947. Achigan served there until the summer of 1956, when she was transferred to the 6th Naval District. The meager record of her service indicates that the tug served in the 6th Naval District into 1957, and was disposed of later that year.

Bibliography

• "Achigan (YTB-218)". NavSource Online. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
• "Achigan (YTB-218)". Dictionary of American Naval fighting ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.