USS Challenge, a 346-ton tug, was built in 1889 by John H. Dialogue and Sons at Camden, New Jersey, as the civilian tug Defiance. In June 1918, when she was owned by the Shipowners & Merchants Tugboat Company of San Francisco, California, she was taken over by the Navy. Placed in commission as USS Defiance (SP-1015) in late July, her name was changed to Challenge in mid-August 1918. Following nearly two years' service along the coasts of California and Mexico, at the end of May 1920 she began more than two and a half decades of employment at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, and in July was redesignated AT-59. Challenge was decommissioned in May 1922 but resumed active service at Bremerton in February 1925. She was formally reclassified as a harbor tug at the end of January 1936, receiving the hull number YT-126. This was changed to YTM-126 in April 1944. In October 1946, the now very elderly Challenge was turned over the the Maritime Commission for disposal.
This page features all the views we have concerning USS Challenge (SP-1015, later AT-59, YT-126 & YTM-126), which was previously the civilian tug Defiance and, briefly in 1918, USS Defiance (SP-1015)
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If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 31 January 2005