USS Wandank (ATA-204)
USS Wandank (ATA-204) in the Pacific Ocean in 1966-1967 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name |
|
| Builder | Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works, Port Arthur, Texas |
| Laid down | 25 September 1944 |
| Launched | 9 November 1944 |
| Commissioned | 18 January 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 26 November 1947 |
| Recommissioned | 3 May 1952 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1971 |
| Renamed | From USS ATA-204 to USS Wandank 1952 |
| Stricken | 1 August 1973 |
| Honors & awards | 3 battle stars for Vietnam War service |
| Fate | Sunk as target, 1979 |
| Notes | Department of the Interior service as MV Wandank 1971-1973 and from 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Sotoyomo-class auxiliary fleet tug |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 143 ft 0 in (43.59 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m) |
| Speed | 13 knots |
| Complement | 45 |
| Armament |
|
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The second USS Wandank (ATA-204), originally USS ATA-204, was a United States Navy auxiliary ocean tug in commission from 1945 to 1947 and again from 1952 to 1971. The ship is possibly best known for supporting scientific operations in the Marianas, in particular serving as communication relay and support ship for the bathyscaphe Trieste in Project Nekton; she towed the bathyscaphe some 260 nautical miles (482 kilometers) from Guam to the vicinity of the Challenger Deep, where, on 23 January 1960, Trieste descended to a record 10,911 metres (35,797 feet).