Tugboat USS Nokomis YT-142, December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor 1941This 1/100 model was made from scratch by myself. Documentation was not easy to find.
I started this project with a rather succinct plan of the torques and the water lines of the hull in order to model it in 3D. It was not easy because of the low resolution of the plan. At the beginning this project was planned for a 1/350 scale.
But the result was really exciting, so I decided to continue and to realize a model in 1/100, my scale of preference with the 1/200.
Other plans were more complete, allowing me to continue the design of this historical ship. Thanks to Roland for his documentary contributions. A good documentation is essential for a serene realization.
Thanks to Bernard Huc for his 3D help on the "Tug pudding", the front fender of the tug.
It was a real pleasure of creation and assembly.
My most successful 3D project so far.
The design subject that lasted several months here:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=335022
A little history:USS Nokomis (YT-142/YTB-142/YTM-142) was a Woban class harbor tug built in Charleston, South Carolina in 1939-40.
General characteristicsClass and type Woban class
Type: District port tug
Displacement: 218 tons
Length: 100' 10" ( 30,5 mt )
Width: 25' ( 7,62 mt )
Draft: 9' 7" (3 mt)
Propulsion: Double Enterprise Diesel electric, single propeller
Speed: 12 knots
Crew: 8 members
He was assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1940.
The Nokomis was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
She was the first ship on the scene to assist the USS Arizona, and left the area due to the impending explosion of the battery below deck. It was then assisted to ground the USS Nevada, with the Hoga (YT-146), and the YT-153.
December 7, 1941, just minutes after the attack was over:
The grounding of the Nevada prevented the blocking of the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Then the USS Nokomis fought the fires and dried out the battleship USS California for three days.
This effort made the California salvageable, to be put back into service later in the war. The Nokomis was also the last ship to move the surviving YC-699 barge before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Nokomis accompanying the CV-8 Hornet returning to Pearl Harbor after its raid on Tokyo
After the war, the Nokomis continued to serve the Pearl Harbor ships until she was de-commissioned in May 1973 and then sold to Crowley, San Francisco. She was renamed Sea Serpent and served for many years in San Francisco Bay as a tug and pump boat.
In 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Nokomis and the Hoga (which had served the City of Oakland as a fireboat) again fought fires alongside each other.
The Nokomis was renamed Panamanian and abandoned, like many other tugs, to decay and rust.
It was rediscovered in mid-2002, in the mud flats of Hunters Point, San Francisco, by tugboat captain Melissa Parker. It was purchased at an auction for $50 to benefit the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society (HTERS) and was originally moored at Pier 80 in San Francisco.
The 501 nonprofit organization was dedicated to historical research, hands-on engineering education programs for disadvantaged Bay Area youth, and cooperative programs among historic ship organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
HTERS acquired an operational sister tug, the USS Wenonah, with the intention of using the Wenonah as a floating class to generate interest in HTERS to help raise funds to restore the Nokomis.
After falling behind on dock rental fees, the two tugs were moved to Treasure Island, but dock rental and insurance fees continued to accrue, eventually costing the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society both vessels.
Sinking of the Wenonah (Sister Ship)
The Wenonah was turned over to the Coast Guard for disposal, and Bay Ship & Yacht in Alameda took over the lease of Pier 1 at Treasure Island, which included taking possession of the Wenonah and Nokomis. Both vessels were scrapped in 2010 in Alameda.
The Wenonah was a sister ship to the Hoga. It would have been a great resource of parts to restore it. The Nokomis was the oldest surviving naval vessel from the Pearl Harbor attack.
The barge YC-699 in SF Bay and the tug YT-153 on the East Coast, along with the Hoga, are now the last surviving naval vessels from Pearl Harbor.
http://www.runcornmodelboats.co.uk/USS_Hoga.htmlSome photos of this beautiful, typically American tug in 1/100 scale.
Thank you all for your encouragement throughout this exciting project.
The Nokomis' display case completed in February 2023:
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