This list of Navy tugs was researched and compiled by NAFTS member James C. Smith.  When I asked him about the "who he was" and how he came to compile the list, he replied as follows:
"I grew up in New York City in the 40s and always got a kick out of seeing tugs in action. A little  bit of the "Little Engine That Could", I suppose.      I joined the Air Force in '53 and ended up driving the C-124. Subsequent to that, I flew for 33 years for Northwest Airlines. I'm now retired and have taken to radio controlled model boats...mostly tugs. The club I belong to was spearheaded by Bill Bach (Jr.) when he was park manager, and through him I met Bill, Sr.    Bill, Sr. sent me copies of the "Towline" when he had extras and I finally joined NAFTS as an associate. Somewhere in there, I became intrigued by the Navy tugs and started my list. I used the Towline, Tug Bitts ( the journal of the tugboat enthusiasts society ), Professional Mariner, Janes', Conway,  The Dictionary of Naval Fighting Ships, and information garnered from Ed Jones, Pete Musgrove and others. So!! It's not really "my" list, it comes from many sources. "

The list has not and will not be edited by NAFTS as it belongs totally to James.   It was converted to HTML code by Mike Turner for display on the site.
(updated 16 November 1999)

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Click on Label for page / Use Back' Button to return
Civil War Alpha to Zouave
WW-I Accomax to Yuma  (WW-I named tugs)
YT Yard Tugs YT1 to YT 478
YT Little YTL 16 to YTL 763
YT Medium YTM 2 to YTM 800
YT Big YTB 14 to YTB836
AT Ocean Tugs AT 1 to AT 174
ATA Ocean Tug Auxiliary ATA 121 to ATA 245
ATF Ocean Tug Fleet ATF 66 to ATF 181
ATO Ocean Tug Old ATO 12 to ATO 169
ATR Ocean Tug Rescue ATR 1 to ATR 131
ARS Salvage Vessel ARS 1 to ARS (D) 4
ASR Submarine Rescue Vessel ASR 1 to ASR 25
ATS Salvage Tug ATS 1 to ATS 5

Notes:
----1939 Lighthouse Service to: USCG
1 Nov.1944 Executive Order No. 8929 USCG to: US Navy
1 Jan. 1946 Executive Order No. 9666 USCG to: Treasury Dept.
Apr. 1967 USCG to: D.O.T.
17 Jul. 1920 US Navy Adopts Alpha-Numeric Ship Identification
15 May.1944 ATs to: ATFs
15 May.1944 ATs to: ATOs
15 May.1944 YTs to: YTBs
Feb.1962 YTBs to: YTMs