USS Tonawanda (AN-89)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | USS Tonawanda |
| Namesake: | A Seneca Indian word meaning "swift water," referring to river rapids |
| Builder: | Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin |
| Laid down: | 12 September 1944 |
| Launched: | 14 November 1944 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Charles N. Barnum |
| Commissioned: | 9 May 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 9 August 1946, at Orange Texas |
| Homeport: | Melville, Rhode Island and Tiburon, California |
| Identification: |
|
| Recommissioned: | 18 March 1952, at Orange, Texas |
| Decommissioned: | 18 December 1959, at Bayonne, New Jersey |
| Fate: | Leased to Haiti under terms of the Military Assistance Program, 25 May 1960 |
| Notes: | sold outright to Haiti in late 1979 |
 Haiti
|
|
| Name: | Jean-Jacques Dessalines |
| Namesake: | Jean-Jacques Dessalines |
| Acquired: |
|
| Identification: | MH-101 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cohoes-class net laying ship |
| Displacement: | 775 tons |
| Length: | 168 ft 6 in (51.36 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel direct drive, 2,500 hp (1,900 kW), single propeller |
| Speed: | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 46 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 x 3″/50 caliber gun |
USS Tonawanda (YN-115/AN-89) was a Cohoes-class net laying ship which was assigned to protect U.S. Navy ships and harbors during World War II by deploying and maintaining anti-submarine nets. Her World War II career was short due to the war coming to an end, but, post-war, she was reactivated in 1952 and served the Navy until 1959 when she was put into reserve and eventually transferred to Haiti as Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Tonawanda (AN-89) was laid down on 12 September 1944 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company; launched on 14 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Charles N. Barnum; and commissioned on 9 May 1945, Lt. Edward F. McLaughlin in command.
The net laying ship departed Sturgeon Bay on 19 May and, after a voyage across the Great Lakes and down the St. Lawrence River, arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, on 4 June. After a short availability, she moved to Melville, Rhode Island, on the 19th for shakedown training and daily net laying drills in Narragansett Bay.
Tonawanda stood out of Boston harbor again on 18 July and shaped a course south to Key West, Florida, and thence to the Panama Canal. She transited the canal on 2 and 3 August and continued her voyage to San Pedro, California, where she arrived on 15 August, the day after hostilities in the Pacific Ocean ceased.
She reported for duty in the 11th Naval District and, for the next 10 weeks, Tonawanda operated in the 11th Naval District at San Pedro, Seal Beach, Long Beach, and Port Hueneme, disposing of nets and salvaging net buoys. On 27 November, the ship stood out of San Pedro Bay and headed back to the Panama Canal which she transited on the 8th. Continuing north, Tonawanda arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, on 19 November and reported for duty with the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet.
...
Wikipedia