 Sarsi underway circa 1946 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSarsi |
| Namesake | A small Canadian plains tribe of theAthapascan family which hunted on the upperSaskatchewan River |
| Builder | United Engineering and Dry Dock Company,Alameda, California |
| Laid down | 25 January 1943 |
| Launched | 12 June 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Robert E. Christy |
| Commissioned | 24 June 1944 asSarsi (AT-111) |
| Decommissioned | 27 August 1952 (sank after striking a mine) |
| Reclassified | ATF-111 on 15 May 1944 |
| Stricken | c. 1952 |
| Homeport | Sasebo, Japan |
| Honours and awards | twocampaign stars for her service during theKorean War |
| Fate | Sank after striking a driftingnaval mine in a typhoon betweenWonsan andHungnam, 27 August 1952 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug |
| Tonnage | 1,240 tons |
| Displacement | 1,589 tons |
| Length | 205 ft (62 m) |
| Beam | 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m) |
| Propulsion | diesel-electric, four Alco diesel main engines driving four General Electric generators and threeGeneral Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines, single screw |
| Speed | 16.5 knots |
| Complement | 85 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | one single3 in (76 mm)gun mount, two twin40 mm gun mounts, two single20 mm guns |
USSSarsi (AT-111/ATF-111) was anAbnaki-classfleet ocean tug commissioned inCalifornia in 1943. She served duringWorld War II in North Pacific waters, and during theKorean War, she performed her towing services until she was sunk duringTyphoon Karen in 1952 by a driftingnaval mine off the coast of Korea.
Sarsi (AT-111) was laid down on 25 January 1943 by the United Engineering and Dry Dock Co.,Alameda, California; launched on 12 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Robert E. Christy; redesignatedATF-111 on 15 May 1944; and commissioned on 24 June 1944.
Followingshakedown training off southernCalifornia,Sarsi headed north to assume fleet tug duties in the17th Naval District, headquartered atKodiak (temporarilyAdak)Alaska.
She arrived in theAleutians on 19 August and, by the end ofWorld War II, had completed 45 jobs in the Aleutians and, on four occasions, had supported units of the North PacificTask Forces engaged in raids against theKuriles and enemy shipping north ofHokkaido. During the latter, no casualties were inflicted on the ships of the attack forces.
In carrying out her varied missions-salvage, towing, personnel and cargo lifts-in the Aleutian chain, the tug operated fromUnalaska, Kodiak,Umnak,Seguam, Adak,Tanaga,Amatignak,Amchitka,Shemya, andAttu.
After the war, she remained on active duty and continued to provide tug and transportation services to ships and bases in the Aleutians. In the spring of 1947, she returned to southern California and commenced operations out ofSan Diego, California, which took her south along the west coast toPanama; west to theHawaiian,Marshall, andMariana Islands; and, five years later, north, back to the Aleutians. By that time, however, war had returned to the Pacific; and the United States was involved in theUnited Nations effort in Korea.
On 24 March 1952,Sarsi, commanded by Lt. W. M. Howard, departedSan Diego, California, and sailed west. On 18 April, she arrived atSasebo, Japan. On the 20th, she took on ammunition; and, a week later, she continued on toward the embattled Korean peninsula. At the end of the month, she moored on the east side of Yodp, in the approaches toWonsan harbor; and, as a unit of Task Group 92.2, the east coast Blockade and Escort Force, she performed towing, salvage, patrol, escort, buoy tender, and transportation duties.
On 19 May, she returned to Sasebo, whence she completed one rescue mission and several towing assignments to southeastern Korean and Japanese ports. In late June, she operated off the west coast of Korea. In July, she again operated between southeastern Korea andKyūshū; and, on 19 August, she returned to theWonsan area and resumed her varied duties there.
On the 20th,typhoon “Karen” hit the coast. For the next week,Sarsi towed various vessels; carried light cargo and personnel; relocated buoys and conducted nighttime, close-inshore anti-mining and anti-junk patrols.
On the afternoon of the 27th, she refueled fromCimarron; and, at 1847, moved north to patrol along the edge of the mineswept waters betweenWonsan andHungnam. At 2200, all unnecessary lights were extinguished. She reached Hungnam without incident; but, as she turned to return to Wonsan, a drifting mine, probably cut loose by thetyphoon, exploded against her hull. Damage control efforts proved futile, andSarsi sank in twenty minutes.
Four men were killed. The remainder, including four wounded, spent the night in, or clinging to, life rafts, life preservers, and the ship'swhale boat. The whale boat, kept pointed out to sea with lines to the rafts, prevented drifting onto the enemy held shore. Rescue ships –destroyerBoyd, and minesweepersZeal andCompetent—arrived in the morning; and carried the survivors to friendly territory for medical treatment and reassignment.
Sarsi earned twocampaign stars for her service during the Korean War.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
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