of landing craft that Arikara had to abandon salvage operations in favor of the even more urgent work of rescue and repair. Her work enabled the less heavily damaged landing craft to remain in action, thus maintaining the flow of troops and supplies during the critical phase of the assault on "Omaha" Beach. That phase past, the tug resumed salvage and towing work on the 7th. In all, she spent almost a month supporting the consolidation of the Normandy invasion. Though she came under air attacks and fire from shore batteries, her only major damage came from the explosion of a nearby mine while she was towing the disabled French destroyer La Surprise back to England for repairs. Her main engine room rapidly took on water which rose to within six inches of her main electric motor before her crew managed to check the leaks. Arikara completed her mission successfully, and, after 24 hours of feverish activity, her crew had her repaired and back in action off Normandy. Mediterranean service Early in July, Arikara and received orders to return to England. From there, the two tugs set out on 12 July in a convoy bound for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Her convoy arrived at Oran, Algeria, on the 21st; but Arikara remained there only until the end of the month. She headed for Italy on 1 August, reached Naples on the 3d, and joined Rear Admiral Spencer S. Lewis' TF 87, code-named "Camel" Force, for the mid-August invasion of southern France. Staged through Ajaccio, Corsica, Arikara's unit, the force's salvage and fire-fighting group, arrived off St. Raphael on the Mediterranean coast of France on the morning of 15 August, the day of the assault. For more than a fortnight, the tug remained in the transport area, salvaging damaged ships and landing craft, fighting fires, and keeping the approaches to the beach clear of wrecks. On 2 September, she moved to the Gulf of San Tropez, France, and began clearing wreckage from French Riviera ports. She also towed ships to Palermo, Sicily, where they underwent repairs. In addition, she made towing voyages to Naples, Marseilles, Bizerte, and Oran. Transfer to Pacific Late in October at the latter port, Arikara joined a convoy bound for the United States and headed home. She arrived in Norfolk on 7 November and remained in that vicinity into December. Late in that month, she