USS Unadilla (ATA-182) was an ocean-going tugboat constructed for the United States Navy, serving intermittently from 1944 to 1961. Originally projected as a steel-hulled rescue tug designated ATR-109, she was reclassified as an auxiliary ocean tug (ATA-182) on 15 May 1944. Built by Levingston Shipbuilding Co. in Orange, Texas, she was laid down on 30 June 1944, launched on 5 August 1944, and commissioned on 16 October 1944. Following her commissioning, USS Unadilla underwent shakedown training out of Norfolk, Virginia, before transiting the Panama Canal to support fleet operations across the Pacific during World War II. Her primary duties involved towing floating drydocks and providing logistical support at strategic locations such as Ulithi, Eniwetok, and Leyte. She remained in active service through the end of hostilities with Japan in 1945, continuing operations into 1946 before returning to the U.S. West Coast and being decommissioned on 26 November 1946 at Portland, Oregon. Reclassified and named Unadilla on 16 June 1948, she was recommissioned on 3 May 1951 in Astoria, Oregon. Her notable activity during the Korean War included deploying to the Western Pacific, where she towed targets for fleet exercises off Japan and was twice involved in operations within Korean waters. During one mission, she escorted a damaged LST from Jeju-do to Sasebo, and on another, she transported a medical team to Ulleungdo to address a typhus epidemic—an effort that earned her the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. Unadilla returned to the U.S. in September 1952, then undertook further WestPac deployments in 1953–1954, primarily towing targets for fleet training off Japan. She continued local operations and target towing into the mid-1950s before being placed in reserve on 29 April 1955 at Astoria, Oregon. She was decommissioned on 22 July 1955, struck from the Navy list in 1961, and transferred to the Maritime Administration. She was eventually laid up at Suisun Bay and was disposed of sometime between 1972 and 1975. Throughout her service, USS Unadilla earned two battle stars for her contributions during the Korean War, marking her as a vessel of notable maritime and military significance.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.