USS Cusabo

USS Cusabo (ATF-155) was an Achomawi class fleet ocean tug built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

History
United States
Name	USS Cusabo
Builder	Charleston Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
Laid down	16 September 1944
Launched	26 February 1945
Commissioned	19 May 1945
Decommissioned	3 December 1946
Stricken	1 July 1963
Fate	Transferred to Ecuador, stricken 1999
General characteristics
Class and type	Achomawi class fleet ocean tug
Displacement	1,205 long tons (1,224 t) light 1,646 long tons (1,672 t) full
Length	205 ft (62 m)
Beam	38 ft 6 in (11.73 m)
Draft	15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric 4 × General Motors 12-278A diesel main engines driving 4 × General Electric generators and 3 × General Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines, single screw
Speed	16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Complement	8 officers, 68 enlisted men
Armament	1 × 3"/50 caliber gun 2 × 40 mm guns 2 × 20 mm guns

Cusabo was laid down 16 September 1945 by the Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Charleston, South Carolina; launched on 26 February 1945; sponsored by Mrs. T.C. Reed; and commissioned at Charleston Navy Yard on 19 May 1945.

Service history

Departing Charleston 30 May 1945, Cusabo sailed to Norfolk, Virginia for training in Chesapeake Bay until 25 June when she departed for Newport, Rhode Island. Picking up tows there and at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, she departed Newport on 4 July for San Diego, California arriving 27 August. She was underway again on 5 September, sailing to Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Guam, and San Pedro Bay, Leyte on towing duty, returning to Guam with IX-149 in tow. Cusabo remained in the Far East on towing and salvage duty at Guam, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Eniwetok until 10 March 1946 when she proceeded to Bremerton, Washington for pre-inactivation availability and overhaul, arriving 11 May. She was placed out of commission, in reserve, in the Columbia River on 3 December 1946.

In 1962, Cusabo was removed from the Columbia River Reserve Fleet and loaned to the government of Ecuador, where she was returned to service as BAE Los Rios (RA-01). Later renamed BAE Cayambe, the ship was permanently transferred (cash sale) to Ecuador under the Security Assistance Program on 1 August 1978. The vessel continued to serve in the Ecuadorian Navy until decommissioned in 1999. The final disposition of the ship is not known.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "Cusabo". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
• "ATF-155 Cusabo". Auxiliary Photo Archive. Retrieved 4 July 2011.