USS Chachalaca

	Chachalaca at her building yard, 28 July 1941.
History
United States
Name	Chachalaca
Namesake	Bird: Chachalaca
Builder	Bristol Yacht Building Co., South Bristol, Maine
Laid down	27 December 1940
Launched	11 June 1941
Sponsored by	Miss Joanne Witherell
Commissioned	Never commissioned
In service	11 September 1941
Out of service	4 January 1946
Stricken	8 May 1946
Fate	Sold 10 September 1947
General characteristics
Displacement	173 tons
Length	97 ft 1 in (29.59 m)
Beam	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Draft	9 ft (2.7 m)
Speed	10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement	17
Armament	two .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns

Last updated October 18, 2024

Chachalaca (AMc-41) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper built by the Bristol Yacht Building Company, South Bristol, Maine and delivered to the U.S. Navy at the Boston Navy Yard in August 1941.

Construction

Chachalaca was down on 27 December 1940 by the Bristol Yacht Building Co., South Bristol, Maine, launched on 11 June 1941 and delivered to the Navy at the Boston Navy Yard 25 August 1941. The vessel was placed in service on 11 September 1941 with plans to report to Commandant, Fifth Naval District, for training at the Mine Warfare School at Yorktown, Virginia. Those plans were delayed by materiel conditions despite a request from the Chief of Naval Operations for accelerated readiness. After missing several departure dates the vessel departed Boston 5 January 1942 arriving at Hampton Roads 8 January.^[1]

Service

After training Chachalaca was assigned to the 10th Naval District sailing in company with Montcalm (AT-39) for San Juan, Puerto Rico on 24 January 1942 arriving 28 January. The minesweeper was assigned to the Naval Operating Base at Trinidad on 1 April 1942 and began daily operations there. Those operations were interrupted with failures of the cable for the magnetic sweep. Local repairs were unsatisfactory with another break the day after repair. Caracara (AMc-40), the other minesweeper assigned to the area, also suffered failures. The Commander Inshore Patrol, Trinidad Sector, on 4 April 1942 requesting Bureau of Ships provide adequate spares noted the two vessels were "the only two vessels available between the British and ourselves that are capable of actually doing a sweeping job in the Gulf of Paria.”^[1]

The ship was assigned to the Caribbean Sea Frontier 23 July 1942 through 21 April 1944 when again reporting to Commandant, Tenth Naval District. Chachalaca continued minesweeping operations until the end of the war in the Atlantic and Europe. On 27 June 1945 the vessel was assigned to Commandant, Sixth Naval District based at Charleston, South Carolina. Chachalaca arrived there on 7 September 1945 where the vessel was placed out of service 4 January 1946 and stricken on 8 May. On 10 September 1947 the vessel was sold through the U.S. Maritime Commission to Evald Sooder of Miami, Florida.^[1]

Related Research Articles

Caracara (AMc-40), an Accentor-class minesweeper placed in service by the U.S. Navy for use during World War II. The vessel was named after the caracara, a large South American bird of prey.

USS Turaco (AMc-55), an Accentor class coastal minesweeper was named by the U.S. Navy after the turaco. The ship was laid down on 17 January 1941 by the Snow Shipyards of Rockland, Maine, launched on 28 July 1941, and was decommissioned on 30 November 1945.

USS Bold (AMc-67) was an Accentor-class minesweeper laid down on 27 August 1941 at South Bristol, Maine, by the Bristol Yacht Building Co.; launched on 2 April 1942; sponsored by Miss Ella E. Gamage; delivered to the U.S. Navy on 18 May 1942; fitted out at the Boston Navy Yard; and placed in service there on 27 May 1942.

USS Valor (AMc-108) was an Accentor-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

USS Bluebird (AM-72) was an Albatross-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for clearing minefields during fleet operations.

USS Albatross (AMS-1/YMS-80) was an YMS-1-class auxiliary motor minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for clearing coastal minefields.

USS Victor (AMc-109) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Vigor (AMc-110) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Stalwart (AMc-105) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Trident (AMc-107) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper of the U.S. Navy.

USS Skipper (AMc-104) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Security (AMc-103) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Governor (AMc-82) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Advance (AMc-63) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Assertive (AMc-65) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Avenge (AMc-66) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Barbet (AMc-38) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Brambling (AMc-39) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Ostrich (AMc-51) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy.

USS Tapacola (AMc-54) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

References

1 2 3 4 Naval History And Heritage Command (25 April 2018). "Chachalaca (AMc-41)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 4 May 2020.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Chachalaca (AMc 41)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[DANFS-1] 1 2 3 4 Naval History And Heritage Command (25 April 2018). "Chachalaca (AMc-41)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 4 May 2020.

[1]