Sotoyomo I

Sotoyomo I

(Tug: dp. 230; 1. 92'6"; b. 21'1',; dr. 9'0~ (mean); s. 11.1 k.)

The first Sotoyomo, a tug, was laid down on 2 March 1903 by the Mare Island Navy Yard and launched on 20 August 1903.

No records of Sotoyomo's early career have been found, but it is reasonable to assume that she was placed in service as a harbor tug soon after launching. It is known that she was commissioned on 1 July 1911 and that, during World War I, she served at the Puget Sound Navy Yard. As of the early part of 1931, Sotoyomo was still assigned to the 13th Naval District; but by 1938, she had moved to the 14th Naval District in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1943, she was still assigned to the 14th Naval District, but 1945 documentation does not reveal her assignment.

In 1920, at the Navy's adoption of alpha-numeric hull designations, she was classified YT-9. During World War II, she was redesignated a medium harbor tug, YTM-9. According to the records, Sotoyomo was destroyed on 15 February 1946, but there is no information regarding how or why this happened. Presumably, her name was struck from the Navy list at that time or shortly thereafter.