Toka (YT-149)
1941-1982
A word in the Sioux language meaning “sea mist.”
(YT-149: displacement 325; length l00'0"; beam 25'0"; draft 9'7"; speed 12.0 knots; class Woban)
Toka (YT-149) was laid down on 3 October 1940 at Bay City, Mich., by the Defoe Bridge & Metal Works; and launched on 15 April 1941.
Completed and delivered to the Navy on 24 May 1941, Toka was placed in service on 3 June 1941. Not long thereafter, Toka reported for duty with the Fourth Naval District at Philadelphia, Pa., where she served as a district tug throughout World War II and for almost 24 years thereafter. During her service there, on 15 May 1944, she was designated as a harbor tug (big) and received the identification number YTB-149. Some 18 years later, she was still assigned to Philadelphia when she was redesignated as a medium harbor tug, YTM-149, in February 1962.
In 1968, however, Toka was shifted from the Fourth Naval District to the Thirteenth Naval District. She was placed out of service, in reserve, at Bremerton, Wash., in November 1978.
Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1982, Toka was transferred to the U.S. Army on 1 January 1983.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
31 January 2024
