USS Wandank, a 795-ton Algorma class fleet tug, was built at the Buffalo, New York. She was commissioned in March 1920 and soon received the hull number AT-26. Over the next two decades, she operated in the U.S. east coast area, generally near her base at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1939, she assisted with rescue and salvage efforts on the submarine USS Squalus (SS-192), which had accidently sunk off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wandank changed her base to Boston, Massachusetts, in October 1940, and worked from there during the World War II years. Her designation was changed to ATO-26 in May 1944. The tug was decommissioned in September 1946. In July 1947, Wandank was sold to a commerical owner, who operated her under the name W.A. Bisso until 1971.