The World War II-era U.S. Army tug Tiger ST-479 has returned to Lake Beresford in DeLand, Fla., as local preservationists work to bring the 82-year-old vessel ashore for permanent display.
Volunteers moved the tug to Lake Beresford on Oct. 31, placing it less than 600' from where it was built in 1944, DeLand Historic Trust President Dan Friend told WESH in Central Florida. The trust is now working to secure land and develop a permanent monument for the vessel.
The 140-ton, 86' tug was built near DeLand before its engine was installed in Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Port Authority, JAXPORT. The port authority says the vessel is believed to have performed rescue work and carried supplies from England to Normandy, France, following the Allied invasion.
ST-479 was part of a larger wartime shipbuilding effort on Lake Beresford. Research compiled by the DeLand Historic Trust says more than 300 area workers participated in building 29 U.S. Army tugs there during World War II.
The Tiger remained overseas after the war and eventually entered private ownership in Sweden. Its owners later donated the vessel to the DeLand Historic Trust, which undertook the effort to bring it back to Florida.
The tug returned to the U.S. through JAXPORT’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal in July 2022 aboard the Spliethoff multipurpose vessel Snoekgracht. The ship’s cranes lowered Tiger into the St. Johns River, where Cross State Towing moved it to a private dock in Jacksonville.
The DeLand Historic Trust says the vessel still retains its original Clark diesel engine and original superstructure. The organization has spent years researching the Army’s small tug fleet and working toward a permanent memorial honoring the vessels, their crews, and the workers who built them.
Volusia County’s Historic Preservation Board backed the preservation effort in 2023, asking the county to assist with grant opportunities and help find a permanent home for the tug.
Friend told WESH that the trust hopes to raise about $500,000 to purchase land and build the memorial, which could include a bronze plaque and mural. The immediate challenge is getting Tiger out of the water after more than eight decades afloat.
