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USS Defense (AM-317)
Encyclopedia
USS Defense (AM-317) was an acquired by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Construction history
Defense was launched on 18 February 1943 at General Engineering and Dry Dock Company in Alameda, CaliforniaAlameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, sponsored by Mrs. A. Duncanfield, and commissioned on 10 January 1944, with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
G. Abbott, USNR, in command. She was reclassified MSF-317 on 7 February 1955.
Convoy duty
Sailing from San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, on 24 March 1944, Defense escorted a convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
to Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
, then swept mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
and had escort duty off Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
, Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
, from 9 to 19 April. She returned to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 30 April, and between 8 May and 9 July escorted two convoys, one to Majuro and one to Eniwetok. After conducting experimental minesweeping exercises at Pearl Harbor until 22 July, she got underway for San Francisco, arriving there on 30 July.
From August through December 1944, Defense provided a variety of services for ships in shakedown off San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and joined in exercises in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations
Sailing from Pearl Harbor on 27 January 1945, Defense arrived off Iwo JimaIwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
on 16 February as the pre-invasion bombardment
Bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings.Prior to World War I the term term was only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, it was only loosely employed to describe artillery...
of the island began. She patrolled in the antisubmarine screen until late on 19 February, day of the landings, when she cleared to escort unladen transports to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
. From 1 to 7 March, she again patrolled off Iwo Jima, and on 10 March arrived at Ulithi, staging point for the invasion of Okinawa. Nine days later, she was underway for minesweeping operations out of Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
in preparation for the invasion landings on Okinawa scheduled for 1 April.
During the massive suicide plane attack 6 days after the initial landings, Defense took a group of four attackers under fire. She splashed one, drove one off, and was struck by the other two after they had been heavily damaged by her antiaircraft fire. Despite her own damage, she went to the aid of two other stricken ships, rescuing 60 men from the destroyer and towing crippled to Kerama Retto.
End-of-war activity
After temporary repairs had been completed on 11 April 1945, Defense sailed for Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
via Pearl Harbor. She arrived at the Naval Ammunition Depot, Indian Island, Washington
Indian Island, Washington
Indian Island is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It is located between Port Townsend Bay and Kilisut Harbor. Parts also border on Oak Bay and Scow Bay. Until the construction of the Port Townsend Ship Canal Indian Island was connected to the mainland...
on 26 May 1945 and spent the better part of the next three months in dry dock. On Monday, 3 September 1945 she sailed for the Western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
for occupation duty at Okinawa, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and various Japanese ports. She served in Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
until 6 March 1946, when she cleared Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
for San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, arriving there on 21 April. Defense was placed out of commission in reserve there on 31 May 1946.
Korean War service
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
because of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Defense sailed for Yokosuka on 7 July, arriving there on 16 August. Operating in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n waters in support of United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
forces, she cleared the waters at Inchon and in the Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
-Chongjin
Chongjin
Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...
-Songjin area of mines until 8 January 1953, when she left Yokosuka heading for Long Beach, where she arrived on 6 February.
Along with another tour of duty in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
from 6 October 1953 to 2 June 1954, Defense operated along the coast of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
until again placed out of commission in reserve on 16 April 1956.
Mexican Navy service
On 3 January 1973, the former Defense was sold to the Mexican NavyMexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over...
where she was named ARM Manuel Doblado (C73). Her pennant number was later changed to G05, before being changed a final time to P104 in 1993. , Manuel Doblado was in active service with the Mexican Navy.