USS Bagaduce ( AT - 21 ) USS " Bagaduce " ( AT - 21 / ATO - 21 ) was the lead ship of her class of fleet tug s for the United States Navy . She was the first ship of the U . S . Navy of that name , and is named for the Bagaduce River and a peninsula in Hancock County , Maine . " Bagaduce " ( Tug No . 21 ) was laid down on 16 July 1918 at Buffalo , New York , by the Ferguson Steel and Iron Company ; briefly named " Ammonoosuc " in February 1919 ; renamed " Bagaduce " on 24 February 1919 ; launched 5 April 1919 ; and commissioned at Buffalo on 18 September 1919 , Lt . ( jg . ) Frank Mogridge in command . Constructed as part of the World War I building program , " Bagaduce " was the first of 19 new steel tugs designed to serve as minesweepers and conduct heavy - duty towing work at navy yards . Assigned to the 3d Naval District , she operated at the New York Navy Yard and off the New England coast , providing towing and pilot services to various ships of the fleet . " Bagaduce " was designated AT - 21 on 17 July 1920 when the Navy adopted the alphanumeric system of hull classification and identification . After almost two years of service out of New York , the tug was caught up in the massive fleet reduction caused by the 1922 Washington Naval Conference . The budget cuts and manpower reductions that followed forced the Navy to decommission 376 ships . " Bagaduce " , one of 15 fleet tugs so affected , was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 2 May 1922 . " Bagaduce " ’ s inactivity , however , proved brief . Recommissioned on 9 June 1924 , she resumed operations in the 3d Naval District , out of the New York Navy Yard . In early 1926 , she transferred to the Washington Navy Yard , but that duty ended in June when she was temporarily returned to the 3d Naval District . The tug was assigned to the salvage of submarine , which had been rammed and sunk by the steamship off Point Judith , Rhode Island , on 25 September 1925 . " Bagaduce " supported and in raising the stricken submersible on 5 July and in towing her into New York three days later . Immediately afterwards , the tug was assigned to the 7th Naval District and arrived at Key West , Florida , on 2 August 1926 . Soon after the tug ' s arrival , on 18 August , a devastating hurricane struck Miami . The next day , " Bagaduce " loaded nine tons of dry provisions and delivered them to that ravaged city . The tug also helped to clear the harbor of wreckage and supported the naval detachment dispatched from Key West in its efforts to guard the waterfront and post office . " Bagaduce " ’ s involvement in relief efforts continued the following year , when , in late April , she moved to Vicksburg , Mississippi , to assist in refugee work and other operations connected with the 1927 flood of the Mississippi River . Her work came to a close on 16 June , and the tug returned to Key West . A month later , on 11 July 1927 , " Bagaduce " got underway for Coco Solo in the Canal Zone , where over succeeding months she provided services to ships and submarines passing through the canal until February 1929 when she returned to Key West . The tug continued normal support operations until early 1932 when she was withdrawn from the 7th Naval District , as part of a district reorganization plan , and decommissioned at Philadelphia on 20 April 1932 . Recommissioned on 22 June 1938 , Lt . Ernest E . Stevens in command , and assigned duty in the 11th Naval District , " Bagaduce " arrived at San Diego on 22 October . The tug remained on towing duty in California waters , serving the growing numbers of Pacific Fleet ships , into August 1943 when she changed operational control to the Commander , Western Sea Frontier . She continued towing duties through the end of the war , even after shifting her base of operations from San Diego to San Francisco on 16 December 1943 . She was reclassified an old ocean tug and was redesignated ATO - 21 on 15 May 1944 . " Bagaduce " was decommissioned at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 22 June 1946 , her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 July 1946 , and she was transferred for disposal to the Maritime Commission at Suisun Bay , California , on 9 January 1947 .