History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Curlew |
Builder | Staten Island Shipbuilding Company, New York |
Laid down | 1 April 1918 |
Launched | 29 August 1918 |
Commissioned | 7 January 1919, as Minesweeper No.8 |
Decommissioned | 28 February 1926 |
Reclassified | AM-8, 17 July 1920 |
Fate | Grounded on the rocks at Point Mosquito, Panama, 15 December 1925 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Lapwing-class minesweeper |
Displacement | 950 long tons (970 t) |
Length | 187 ft 10 in (57.25 m) |
Beam | 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) |
Draft | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
Speed | 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
Complement | 72 |
Armament | 2 × 3 in (76 mm) guns |
USS Curlew (AM-8) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Curlew was launched on 29 August 1918 by Staten Island Shipbuilding Company, New York; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Rhodes; and commissioned on 7 January 1919, Lieutenant John McCloy, a two time Medal of Honor recipient, in command.
Clearing Boston, Massachusetts on 5 April 1919, Curlew arrived at Inverness, Scotland on 20 April and was fitted out for experimental minesweeping out of Kirkwall, the Orkney Islands base for operations in the North Sea minefields. She sailed for home on 2 October, calling at Chatham, England; Brest, France; Lisbon, Portugal; the Azores; and Bermuda, and reaching New York on 19 November. Arriving at Portsmouth Navy Yard on 26 November, she was placed in ordinary on 16 November 1920 without a crew.
In commission from 29 December 1920 – 7 February 1921, Curlew served with the Atlantic Fleet, then returned to reserve at Portsmouth. Recommissioned on 29 October, she cruised to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in the first four months of 1922 to give support to the ships training there, then sailed north to New London to serve as submarine tender until September. From September 1922 – February 1923, she operated with submarines in Chesapeake Bay and off the Virginia coast.
Reassigned to the 15th Naval District, Curlew reported at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone on 6 August. Besides acting as tender for seaplanes, she carried out rescue and salvage operations from Coco Solo.
On 15 December 1925, Curlew grounded on the rocks at Point Mosquitos, Panama. Determined efforts were made to save her, but the heavy surf broke her to pieces. Curlew was decommissioned on 28 February 1926, after all salvageable material was removed.
USS R-21 (SS-98) was an R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 19 April 1917 by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut; the R-boats built by Lake Torpedo Boat are sometimes considered a separate class from those built by Fore River Shipbuilding and Union Iron Works. She was launched on 10 July 1918 sponsored by Mrs. Dallas C. Laizure and commissioned on 17 June 1919.
USS Lapwing (AM-1/AVP-1) was the lead ship of her class of minesweeper – the first minesweeper of the United States Navy. She was named after a bird, the lapwing, an abundant crested plover of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, noted for its slow, irregular, flapping flight and its shrill wailing cry.
USS Owl (AM-2) was an Lapwing-class 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 Oriole (AM-7) was a Lapwing-class 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.
The third USS Falcon, (AM-28/ASR-2) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy. She later became a submarine rescue ship.
USS Woodcock (AM-14) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Thrush (AM-18) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Teal (AM-23/AVP-5) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the task of removing naval mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. The ship entered service in 1918, was converted into a seaplane tender in the 1920s and took part in World War II, serving primarily in Alaskan waters. Following the war, the ship was decommissioned and sold in 1948. Teal was named after the teal, any of several small, short-necked, river ducks common to Europe and the Americas.
USS Seagull (AM-30) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
The first USS Swan (AM-34/AVP-7) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy.
The first USS Chewink (AM-39/ASR-3) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy. She was later converted to a submarine rescue ship.
USS Cormorant (AM-40) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Gannet (AM-41) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy near the end of World War I.
The first USS Ortolan(AM-45/ASR-5) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy. She was later converted to a submarine rescue ship. She was named after the ortolan, a European bunting.
USS Kingfisher (AM-25/AT-135/ATO-135) was an Lapwing-class 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 Fulton (AS-1) was constructed as a submarine tender in 1914, but later was converted into a gunboat and redesignated PG-49.
USS Grebe (AM-43) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy.
The first USS Mallard (AM-44/ASR-4) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper in the United States Navy. She was later converted to a submarine rescue ship.
USS Flamingo (AM-32) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy near the end of World War I. After service overseas clearing mines after the Armistice, the ship was laid up until 1922 when she was transferred to the United States Department of Commerce for use by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Renamed USC&GS Guide, the ship operated as a survey vessel along the West Coast of the United States for 17 years, making significant contributions to navigation, hydrographic surveying, and oceanography. In June 1941, Guide was transferred back to the Navy, converted into a salvage ship, and renamed USS Viking (ARS-1). As Viking, she worked primarily from bases in California until 1953, when she was sold for scrapping.
USS Eider (AM-17) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper of the United States Navy.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.