us army tug ST 2200. Now with photo

dirtydeeds

dirtydeeds

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where would this tug have originated

and why does (did) the us army need tugs

its clearly no longer in us ownership, ie not in current military use

currently its in london (uk) within sight of canary wharfe

USarmytugST2200.jpg
 
the information from wim is that

the ship (tug) was Pelham Point and was retired in October 1987

there is no other information
 
DD,
    Very interesting after a quick search all I could find about this vessel is the following:    Pelham Point  (Army registration # ST 902)  ....U.S. Army Tug ....110 tons retired in  1998  I will see if I can find out anymore for you later.

Colin     
 
DD,
    Information on this particular Tug is very sketchy but I can furnish an answer to your original question why did the US army need tugs.  Apparently during  WWII  ( 1942 to be precise) The American Army formed The Transportation Corps Water Division, the reason they did this is a long and complicated answer so I am going to condense it for a short reply, so historians please don't ridicule me to much.
    The US army was having grave problems supplying their troops abroad with equipment. strangely the problem was not getting the supplies from America to where ever,  the US navy was doing a good job at that, the problem was getting the supplies from the factories to the ports that the Navy used, so the water Corps was formed to combat this.
      For more reading and a lot more accurate description visit link

 
thank you colin

just another question, in england a tug does just that, it PULLS (it tugs) ships, barges and the like

ive seen black and white photos of american tugs PUSHING ocean going liners around

are the "pushers" a specialist tug or do all american tugs "push"
 
For an incomplete list of tugs in the LT (Large Tug) and ST (Small Tug) series, seehttp://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/smallships/armytugs.htm which states that the 122-ton ST2200 was delivered in the 1950s, and was retired in 1987.

Another tug which was built around the same time, ST2110, saw service in Vietnam, and the story of one of the Army crew can be read athttp://grambo.us/atav/st2110.htm  The article has an interesting photo of the inside of the vessel, and a line diagram.

Since you are in the UK, you might be interested to know that the British Army also operates a small fleet of vessels. These are manned by personnel the Royal Logistic Corps and many of them work at Marchwood Military Port at Southampton, which is home of 17 Port and Maritime Regiment. A good article about the regiment, written by a former Second in Command, can be found athttp://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/MarApr05/britain.html

Forrest

 
DD,
    sorry I am not a ship or tug expert just a good googler :) but yes there are tugs that push, I believe as ships get larger and more difficult to maneuver to get them docked properly the "pushers" will push against the side of the ship maneuvering it sideways they are extremely powerful and i think i'm right saying that most of the time they work in pairs. I saw this on a TV program awhile ago

Colin. 
 
dirtydeeds said:
thank you colin

just another question, in england a tug does just that, it PULLS (it tugs) ships, barges and the like

ive seen black and white photos of american tugs PUSHING ocean going liners around

are the "pushers" a specialist tug or do all american tugs "push"
Click to expand...

 DD, here in Pittsburgh we have three rivers, these are medium sized rivers, say 300-400 meters across.The kind of tugs used here are very different that the one in your photo. There are tugs pushing barges of coal, coke, slag and other martial constantly. They are fairly large and a single tug pushes a number of barges. The tugs have thrust ports on all sides of the tug, that allow the tug to move in almost any direction. So, tugs can push, pull, push laterally or even pivot.

[attachthumb=#]
Here's a picture of a small pushing a single barge.

[attachthumb=#]
Closer up, on the right.

[attachthumb=#]
Again a small tug with a single barge.

[attachthumb=#]
If you look closely you'll see the arrow points to a person, this will give you a sense of scale and this tug is a small one.

 
that is small.................................................................................

techiquely that is LARGE
 
I live on the New York harbor and it's like Brice said, the tugs push from the rear and nudge from the side. I can't remember the last time I saw a tug pulling a tow line.

I didn't know this though, "The tugs have thrust ports on all sides of the tug, that allow the tug to move in almost any direction. So, tugs can push, pull, push laterally or even pivot." I don't know if the harbor tugs have this ability.
 
I have worked for a Dutch shipyard for almost 25 years. Their main product is tugs, in all forms and sizes. The following link may give you an impression of the products. I'm retired now, so I have no further financially connection with the company  ;D.http://www.damen.nl/PRODUCTS/TUGS.aspx?mId=8601
The tugs need to be very manoeuvrable, especially if they are to be used in harbours. With socalled thrusters (propeller units that can rotate 360?), they can even turn at the spot, going sideways or whatever you like. Years ago, they made a film of a sort ballet of seven tugs in the Hamburg harbour.
For pushing the tugs have special reinforced bows and fenders.
Before this company, I worked almost 10 years for a company, that made these thrusters. See link below (and also no connections).http://www.schottel.com/
For any further questions about tugs and their way of control, just ask.
 
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