DeLand’s WWII tugboat Tiger returns home after nearly 80 years

A piece of DeLand’s World War II history has made its way back home — but the volunteers who spent years bringing it there say the work is far from over.

The Tiger, a 140-ton tugboat built on Lake Beresford in 1944, is now docked on the same lake where it was constructed — within 600 feet of its original build site. After spending nearly 80 years overseas supporting the Allied effort in Europe, the vessel was brought back from Sweden in 2022 and has spent time stuck in the mud along the St. Johns River. As of last week, volunteers successfully moved it to Lake Beresford.

But those volunteers say they are now in a race against time.

“You know, the largest concern we have is that she’s been in the water 82 years and could sink at any time,” said DeLand historian Dan Friend.

Friend has spent years working to bring the Tiger home — a labor of love that included raising the funds needed to transport the vessel back from Sweden. Now, the next challenge is getting it out of the water entirely.

“We’ve got her within 600 feet of where she was built,” Friend said.

The Tiger was constructed in DeLand in 1944, built by approximately 500 workers on day and night shifts that began just three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was then sent to Europe to support Allied operations during World War II before spending decades overseas.

Friend and the DeLand Historic Trust are now hoping to transform the tugboat into a memorial museum honoring the Tiger and other World War II-era tugboats. To do that, they first need to raise $500,000.

“That money would purchase the land and we would be able to bring it up and get it out of the water,” Friend said. “It might not finish the entire area, parking, etc., but it would solve my immediate problem of getting her out of the water before she sinks. And from what I’ve read, a lot of these tugs rust from the inside out. You don’t see anything, and we could see external rust on her now. So, it’s like, this could happen tomorrow.”

Despite the urgency, Friend noted one encouraging development during the vessel’s journey to its current home.

“We managed to keep the original engine in the boat. We managed to get it here,” he said.

Some of the Tiger’s items are currently being kept at the DeLand Memorial Hospital and Veterans Museum while the vessel remains docked at Lake Beresford.

Those wishing to support the effort can donate by mail. Checks should be made payable to DeLand Historic Trust, Inc. — a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit — and mailed to 2232 Holly Lane, DeLand, FL 32724. Donors should include a note specifying the funds are for the ST-479 Tiger Restoration Fund. The organization’s EIN is 46-4720482.