RAIL ATO 139

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.

Lapwing Class Minesweeper
Keel Laid December 15 1917 - Launched April 25 1918


1. USS RAIL Minesweeper No.26
   Commissioned June 5 1918
   
   
2. USS RAIL AM-26
   Designated (AM) July 17 1920
   
   
3. USS RAIL AT-139
   Reclassified Fleet Tug (AT) June 1 1942
   
   
4. USS RAIL ATO-139
   Reclassified Fleet Tug Old (ATO) May 15 1944
   Decommissioned April 29 1946
   
   Struck from Naval Register April 29 1946
   Transferred January 17 1947 to Maritime Commission for disposal

 

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. Rail Covers Page 1    (1923-45)

 

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	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 3r (A) "BALBOA C.Z. / PANAMA"

1923-03-23

As AM-26

 

Locy Type 3r (B-BTT) "SAN DIEGO / U.S. FLEET"

1936-06-05

As AM-26
18th Anniversary, Cachet by Ted Harrington

 

Locy Type 3r (B-BTT)

1936-06-05

As AM-26

 

Locy Type 3r (B-BTT)

1945-11-05

As ATO-139

 

Locy Type 3r (A-BTT)

1941-05-11

As AM-26
Cachet by Walter G. Crosby

 

Locy Type 3r (A-BTT)

1941-09-26

As AM-26

 

Locy Type 3rs (AC) "SAN DIEGO / CALIFORNIA"

1932-06-09

As AM-26
Cachet by George Sadworth

 

Locy Type 3rs (AC) "SAN DIEGO / CALIFORNIA"

1932-07-16

As AM-26
Backstamped with a USPO Slogan Machine postmark, same date

 

Locy Type 3rs (AC)

1933-12-25

As AM-26

 

Locy Type 9r

1928-02-22

As AM-26

 

Locy Type 9vz

19(37)-11-09

As AM-26
Type 9vz used in 1942...Possibly not from RAIL or added later
Christmas Day 1937

 

Other Information

RAIL earned six battle stars during World War II

RAIL AM-26 was at Pearl Harbor December 7 1941

NAMESAKE - Named for a marsh hunting bird with short wings, long legs, and long compressed bill

 

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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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