SONOMA ATO 12
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.
- Sonoma Class Fleet Tug
- USS SONOMA Fleet Tug No. 12
Commissioned September 6 1912
- USS SONOMA AT 12
Designated Fleet Tug (AT) July 17 1920
- USS SONOMA ATO 12
Redesignated Fleet Tug Old (ATO) May 15 1944
SUNK (Kamikaze bomber) October 24 1944 at San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf
Struck from Naval Register November 27 1944
Keel Laid November 7 1911 - Launched May 11 1912
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.
- Sonoma Covers Page 1 (1934-41)
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 |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1916-10-04 |
 |
 |
USS SONOMA Fleet Tug No. 12
Although postal records say she had a post office continuously from 1915 until she was sunk in the Philippines in 1944, there were no previous reports of any cancels prior to 1930.
New discovery January 2011.
|
Locy Type |
1934-05-30 |
 |
 |
Memorial Day, cachet by Byrd L. Powell (R/S marking on back)
|
Locy Type |
1934-05-30 |
 |
 |
Autographed by the CO and his wife. Memorial Day, cachet by Byrd L. Powell (R/S marking on back)
|
Locy Type |
1940-01-01 |
 |
 |
New Year's Day
|
Locy Type |
1941-06-10 |
 |
 |
Official Business
|
Locy Type F |
1940-01-01 |
 |
|
New Year's Day
Other Information
USS SONOMA earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Mexican Service Medal, the World War I Victory Medal (with Minesweeper clasp), the American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp), the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/ 5 battle stars), the World War II Victory Medal and the Philippines Liberation Medal during her Naval career.
NAMESAKE - Named for a creek, a county, and a town in California, that in turn were named for one of the chiefs of the Chocuyen Native Americans of that region.
Three ships of the US Navy have been named after this town; USS Sonoma (Side-wheel gunboat, 1862), USS Sonoma AT/ATO 12 and USS Sonoma ATA 175.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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