Cherokee-class tugboat

	USS Cree (ATF-84) underway in 1970
Class overview
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Bagaduce-class fleet tug
Built	1938-1943
Completed	28
Lost	3
General characteristics
Type	Fleet tug
Displacement	1,235 long tons (1,255 t)
Length	205 ft (62 m)
Beam	38 ft 6 in (11.73 m)
Draft	18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric, 1 shaft, 3,600 hp (2,685 kW)
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement	85+
Armament	1 × 3"/50 caliber gun; 2 × twin 40 mm guns; 2 × 20 mm guns;

The Cherokee class, originally known as the Navajo class, was a class of fleet tugs built for the United States Navy prior to the start of World War II.^[2] They represented a radical departure from previous ocean-going tug designs, and were far more capable of extended open ocean travel than their predecessors. This was due in large part to their 205 feet (62 m) length, 38 feet (12 m) beam, and substantial fuel-carrying capacity. They were also the first large surface vessels in the US Navy to be equipped with diesel/electric drive.^[2]

The first three vessels were constructed from 1938-1940, at the Staten Island Shipyard division of Bethlehem Steel Corp. Navajo and Seminole joined the Pacific fleet in 1940, and Cherokee to the Atlantic fleet. Navajo was en route to San Diego from Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, and immediately reversed course once news broke of the attack. She became a critical element of salvage operations there, as did her sister ship Seminole, in the days following the attack.

Following the loss of the first two ships of the class, Navajo and Seminole, the class was renamed from its original name of Navajo-class to Cherokee-class.^[3]