USS Wandank ( ATA - 204 ) 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 37 , 000 feet ( 11 , 278 meters ) . Construction and commissioning . Originally projected as steel - hulled rescue tug USS " ATR — 131 " , " Wandank " was laid down as USS " ATA - 204 " on 25 September 1944 at Port Arthur , Texas , by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works . She was launched on 9 November 1944 and commissioned on 18 January 1945 with Lieutenant , junior grade , Vernon L . Ryan , USNR , in command . She was 143 ft in length and displaced 835 tons . First period in commission , 1945 - 1947 . World War II service , 1945 . Following her shakedown in the Caribbean , " ATA - 204 " got underway on 23 February 1945 for the Panama Canal , en route World War II service in the Pacific Ocean . She operated with the United States Pacific Fleet through the end of hostilities , performing services at locales ranging from Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , to the Marshall Islands . Postwar service and decommissioning , 1945 - 1947 . After hostilities ended on 15 August 1945 , " ATA - 204 " returned to the United States at San Francisco , California , late in August 1945 . She soon shifted to the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington . She operated in the 13th Naval District until she was decommissioned on 26 November 1947 and placed in reserve . Second period in commission , 1952 - 1971 . Pearl Harbor service , 1952 - 1955 . The onset of the Korean War ( 1950 - 1953 ) gave " ATA - 204 " a new lease on life by triggering the expansion of the United States Navy . " ATA - 204 " was reactivated on 17 April 1952 at Astoria , Oregon , for assignment to the 14th Naval District . Recommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 3 May 1952 with Lieutenant William A . Walden in command , she was renamed USS " Wandank " while retaining her " ATA - 204 " designation . She operated out of Pearl Harbor until 1955 , providing tug and tow services for the Pacific Fleet , and occasionally deployed to American Samoa and other Pacific islands with tows . Mariana Islands service , 1955 - 1967 . On 9 September 1955 , " Wandank " was transferred to the Mariana Islands . There , she towed barges of supplies , stood ready to assist in search - and - rescue operations , provided target services for gunnery and torpedo exercises , and conducted local surveillance missions out of Guam into the 1960s . During this deployment , " Wandank " supported scientific operations in addition to her more routine duties . In January 1960 , for example , she served 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 37 , 000 feet ( 11 , 278 meters ) . Hydrophone gear aboard " Wandank " was still able to communicate with the craft once on the bottom , although the sound waves took seven seconds to make a one - way journey from ship to bathyscaphe , which was nearly seven miles deep . On occasion , " Wandank " s operations nonetheless assumed a dangerous character during tropical storms . During one of these storms , which occurred late in 1963 , " Wandank " was trapped between two typhoons while en route to her annual buoy maintenance duty at Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands . In the heavy seas , her tow line parted , leaving USS " YCV - 18 " adrift . During the ensuing recovery operations , the tug ' s first lieutenant , J . B . Clark , was knocked overboard by a heavy wave and swept from sight . In November 1964 , " Wandank " conducted a survey of the Solomon Islands in a joint project sponsored by the University of Hawaii ' s Institute of Geophysics and the Office of Naval Research ; during the course of this operation , she measured the earth ' s gravity in the area . In July 1966 , " Wandank " rendezvoused with Japan ese merchantman " Yeiji Maru " , which had been experiencing engine trouble , and escorted the distressed ship to Guam . Later that year , she towed SS " Old Westbury " to a safe haven , relieving auxiliary ocean tug USS " Sunnadin " ( ATA - 197 ) , which had run low on fuel on 11 November 1966 . The year 1967 passed with much the same routine . Vietnam War and Mariana Islands service , 1968 - 1971 . In 1968 , " Wandank " participated in her first operations in connection with the Vietnam War . She towed gasoline barge USS " YOG - 131 " from Guam to Danang , South Vietnam , from 3 January 1968 to 15 January 1968 . After returning from Vietnamese waters , she performed island survey duties in the western Caroline Islands and subsequently helped to search for floating drydock USS " AFDM - 6 " , which had broken loose from her civilian tow vessel . " Wandank " next participated in special operations into the summer of 1968 before making a second voyage to Vietnamese waters , towing USS " APL - 30 " to Vung Tau , South Vietnam , from 16 August 1968 to 1 September 1968 . " Wandank " commenced 1969 with more island surveillance missions in the central Caroline Islands , sending a landing party ashore from her crew to ascertain the needs of the islanders who lived under the care and protection of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . She conducted a training mission to Yokosuka , Japan , in February and March 1969 before returning to a schedule of surveillance operations in the northern Mariana Islands . She trained for possible participation in Project Apollo in April 1969 before she towed three barges from Sattahip , Thailand , to Vung Tau , South Vietnam , from 13 April 1969 to 8 May 1969 . Upon returning to the vicinity of the Mariana and Caroline Islands soon thereafter , she conducted local operations through the end of 1969 . Wandank interrupted this duty only long enough to tow landing craft utility USS " LCU - 1483 " to Ponape Island and USS " LCU - 1497 " to Majuro , from 25 November 1969 to 4 December 1969 . During her final full year of naval service , 1970 , " Wandank " conducted local operations out of her home port of Apra Harbor , Guam . She got underway from Guam on 20 January 1971 for Hong Kong and then escorted three " Asheville " - class patrol gunboat s to Subic Bay , the Philippines , and Camranh Bay . South Vietnam , serving as a communication back - up vessel . She later escorted two gunboats from Camranh Bay to Hong Kong before returning to island surveillance duties . Final decommissioning and disposal . Decommissioned at Guam on 1 July 1971 , " Wandank " was simultaneously turned over to the Department of the Interior for service in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . Returned to the Navy on 22 May 1973 , " Wandank " was adjudged unfit for further Navy service and accordingly struck from the Navy List on 1 August 1973 . Subsequently returned to the Department of the Interior as her original designation number ATR - 131 , she resumed service in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands on island surveillance and local towing duties . She was finally sunk as a target ship in 1979 . Honors and awards . " Wandank " was awarded three battle star s for her Vietnam War service .