Arthur Foss
Arthur Foss at Kirkland, Washington in the 1980s
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| History | |
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| Operator: | US Navy (1942–1946) |
| Builder: | Willamette Iron and Steel Company of Portland, Oregon |
| In service: | 1889 |
| Out of service: | 1967 |
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| Fate: | Museum Ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Tugboat |
| Length: | 120 feet (37 m) |
| Beam: | 23.9 feet (7.3 m) |
| Draft: | 11.6 feet (3.5 m) |
| Installed power: | Washington Iron Works diesel, reversing 6 cyl, 700 horsepower (520 kW), 18,382 pound force-feet (24,923 N·m) |
| Propulsion: | Direct-drive |
| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h) |
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Arthur Foss (tugboat)
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| Location | Historic Ships Wharf, 860 Terry Avenue N., Seattle |
| Coordinates | 47°37′41.31″N 122°20′12.72″W / 47.6281417°N 122.3368667°WCoordinates: 47°37′41.31″N 122°20′12.72″W / 47.6281417°N 122.3368667°W |
| Area | Lake Union Park, South Lake Union, Seattle |
| Built | 1889, Portland, Oregon |
| Architect | Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. |
| Architectural style | Sawn old-growth Douglas fir, plank on frame |
| NRHP Reference # | 89001078 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 11, 1989 |
| Designated NHL | April 11, 1989 |
| Designated SEATL | March 14, 1977 |
Arthur Foss, built in 1889, as the Wallowa, in Portland, Oregon, it is the oldest wooden-hulled tugboat afloat in the United States. It started off towing sailing ships over the Columbia River bar.
In 1898, in response to the Klondike Gold Rush, she transported barges full of gold-seeking miners and supplies up the Inside Passage. There is only one other Alaskan Gold Rush vessel still operating today. After the gold rush, she returned to the Pacific Northwest, and worked for the timber industry, pulling rafts of logs to sawmills.
In 1929, she was purchased by Foss Tug & Launch Company, and leased to MGM Studios to star in the 1933 blockbuster hit Tugboat Annie. Afterwards, Foss rebuilt the ship from the waterline up, and installed a state-of-the-art, 700 hp Washington Ironworks diesel engine, and renamed it Arthur Foss. A year later, a power-steering assist system was installed, because the prop wash from the more powerful engine made steering virtually impossible for a single person.
In February 1941 Arthur Foss was sent under charter agreement with contractors, Pacific Naval Air Bases to Wake Island for construction of harbors and air bases. In March she was joined by Justine Foss at Wake. Arthur Foss, under Captain Oscar Rolstad, was assigned the task of towing barges loaded with supplies and construction equipment from Honolulu and was returning to Honolulu with two 1,000 ton barges. Twelve hours out of Wake, the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was received. Painted white and highly visible the ship was a likely target standing "out like a chain of coral islands on the empty sea" and, despite some discussion of heading for Alaska, the ship continued to Pearl Harbor under radio silence. While underway, the crew hastily mixed all the paint onboard with engine grease, and repainted the decks a dark gray to help her blend in with the ocean. The ship was spotted by US naval scout planes and escorted into Pearl Harbor on December 28, 1941 where Admiral Claude Bloch cited the crew for action beyond the call of duty.Arthur Foss was the last vessel to escape Wake Island before Imperial Japanese forces captured the island on 23 December 1941. She thus escaped the fate of Justine Foss that was captured, forced to serve Japanese purposes and then scuttled with members of her crew executed along with many of the other civilian contractors held captive.Arthur Foss was acquired by the US Navy in 1942, renamed Dohasan and designated YT-335 and later YTM-335. In 1946 the tug was returned to Foss Towing and Barge Co. and renamed Arthur Foss.
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