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 10,911 metres (35,797 feet).

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. 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 to 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.