CHEROKEE WMEC 165

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Navajo Class Fleet Ocean Tug Keel Laid 23 December 1938 - Launched 10 November 1939 USS CHEROKEE AT-66 Commissioned 26 April 1940 USS CHEROKEE ATF-66 Redesignated Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF) 15 May 1944 Decommissioned 29 June 1946 Custody transferred to U.S. Coast Guard 29 June 1946 USCGC CHEROKEE WAT-165 Commissioned 29 June 1946 USCGC CHEROKEE WMEC-165 Redesignated Medium Endurance Cutter (WMEC) 1965 Decommissioned 30 January 1990 Custody transferred to U.S. Navy for disposal Custody transferred to Maritime Administration 28 February 1991 Reacquired by U.S. Navy 6 October 1993 Sunk as target 1993

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Cherokee AT-66 Covers Page 1    (1938-1944)
2. USS Cherokee ATF-66 Covers Page 1    (1944-1946)
3. USCGC Cherokee WAT-165 Covers Page 1    (1946-1965)
4. USCGC Cherokee WMEC-165 Covers Page 1    (1965-1990)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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1st Commissioning 26 April 1940 to 29 June 1946

AT-66

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-BBT) "FIRST DAY / SERVICE"

1940-06-01

First Day of Postal Service. Cachet by Al Cohen

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT) "BALBOA / CANALZONE"

1940-11-11

Sailor's mail with a hand drawn cachet. Sailor and cachet artist - George S. Dunbar (ACE-237)

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ATF-66
 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT)

1945-12-24

Note:

 

Locy Type 3z (BTB)

1945-11-01

Triple strike

 

Locy Type 9vz

1945-11-01

Note:

 

Locy Type 9x

1941-03-13

Note:

 

Locy Type 9xz

1945-11-01

Note:

 

Locy Type RECD USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. C-38b

1946-03-01

Note:

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USCG Commissioning 29 June 1946 to 28 February 1991

WAT-165

 

USPO Slogan Machine Cancel Portsmouth VA

1952-09-22

N/A

Note:

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WMEC-165
 

USPS Machine Cancel Norfolk VA

1980-07-17

N/A

Note:

 

Other Information

USS CHEROKEE earned the American Defense Service Medal (w/ Fleet clasp), the American Campaign Medal, the Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (w/ 1 Battle star) and the World War II Victory Medal during her US Navy career.

USCGC CHEROKEE earned the Coast Guard Unit Commendation Ribbon (w/ "O" device), the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon (w/ "O" device and 3 Gold stars), the National Defense Service Medal (w/ 1 Bronze star), the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon (w/ 1 Gold star), the Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon (w/ 2 Silver stars and 3 Bronze stars), the Navy Sea Service ribbon (w/ 2 Bronze Stars) and the Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon (w/ "O" device) during her US Coast Guard career.

NAMESAKE - Named for the Indian tribe found today chiefly in Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Four ships of the US Navy have been named CHEROKEE - USS Cherokee (Screw Steamer 1864), USS Cherokee (Patrol Yacht SP-1104), USS Cherokee (Tug SP-458) and USS Cherokee AT/ATF-66.

 

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