Type V ship

The Type V ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II tugboats. Type V was used in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. Type V ships were used to move ships and barges. Type V tugboats were made of either steel or wood hulls. There were four types of tugboats ordered for World War II. The largest type V design was the sea worthy 186-foot long steel hull, V4-M-A1. The V4-M-A1 design was used by a number of manufacturers, a total of 49 were built. A smaller steel hull tugboat was the 94-foot V2-ME-A1, 26 were built. The largest wooden hull was the 148-foot V3-S-AH2, which 14 where built. The smaller wooden hull was the 58-foot V2-M-AL1, which 35 were built. Most V2-M-AL1 tugboats were sent to England for the war efforts under the lend-lease act.. The type V tugs served across the globe during WW2 including: Pacific War, European theatre and in the USA. The SS Farallon was use to help built Normandy ports, including Mulberry harbour, on D-Day, June 6, 1944 and made 9 round trips to Normandy to deliver Phoenix breakwaters.

Tugboat are used to maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs are needed to move vessels that either should not move by themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal, or those that can not move by themselves, like as barges, disabled ships, or log rafts. Tugboats are powerful for their small size and are strongly built. Early tugboats used steam engines, but most have diesel engines now. Many tugboats have firefighting monitors, allowing them to assist in firefighting, especially in harbors. Some Minesweepers like the USS Vireo (AM-52), USS Lark (AM-21) and USS Kingfisher (AM-25) were converted to ocean tugs for the war.

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