USS James M. Gilliss (AMCU-13)
Encyclopedia
USS James M. Gilliss (AMCU-13/YMS-262) was a acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Operational history
YMS-262 was laid down by the South Coast Co., Newport Beach, CaliforniaNewport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
, 6 September 1942; launched 24 December 1942; and commissioned 15 September 1943, Lt. Thomas W. Burns in command.
World War II service
After shakedownShakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, YMS-262 conducted minesweeping exercises out of San Pedro, California, during the remainder of the year. Departing San Diego 5 January 1944, she reached Nawiliwili Harbor, Hawaii
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...
, 17 January and there joined units of Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly
Richard L. Conolly
Richard Lansing Conolly was a United States Navy Admiral, who served during World War I and World War II.-Biography:...
’s Northern Attack Force staging for the invasion of Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
, Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. She sailed the 19th and closed the enemy-held atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
31 January. Prior to initial landings off Roi-Namur
Roi-Namur
Roi-Namur is an island in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.Occupied by Japanese forces prior to World War II, it was the target of the U.S. 4th Marine Division in the Battle of Kwajalein, in February 1944....
, she swept a path for amphibious ships into the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
; then she screened LST's during afternoon landings. From 1 to 9 February she operated off Roi-Namur, sweeping for mines, and carrying out hydrographic
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
and pilotage duties.
Supporting the invasion of Kwajalein
Steaming to KwajaleinKwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
Island 12 February, YMS-262 joined Rear Admiral H. W. Hill's Eniwetok Expeditionary Group and sortied from Kwajalein Lagoon 15 February for the invasion of that strategic atoll. The assault force approached Eniwetok 17 February, and YMS-262 swept the Wide Passage and lagoon for mines as the force prepared for initial landings on the northern islets off Engebi. During the remainder of the month she performed minesweeping, screening, and control duties as powerful American naval and ground forces wiped out Japanese
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...
resistance on Engebi, Eniwetok, and Parry Islands.
End-of-war operations
YMS-262 served at Eniwetok during mop-up operations in the Marshalls; and she remained in the Marshalls until December when she returned to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. From January to April 1945 she was converted to a surveying ship at California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, California. On 23 March she was named James M. Gilliss and reclassified AGS-13. She steamed 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...
in April and sailed for the Marianas the following month. Arriving 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...
early in June, she underwent survey training before sailing for Okinawa late in July. She steamed via 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...
and reached Okinawa as Japanese forces in the Pacific surrendered.
Supporting Bikini Atoll nuclear testing
James M. Gilliss served at Okinawa until November; and, following destructive typhoons in September and October, she provided important survey work off the battered island. She sailed for Japan 1 November and for the next month supported occupation operations out of Nagoya. Departing Nagoya 4 December, she reached Pearl HarborPearl 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...
6 January 1946. After overhaul, she sailed for the Marshalls in March to support Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, the atomic bomb tests. Arriving Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
16 March, for the next 5 months she operated between Bikini and Eniwetok while conducting hydrographic
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
, oceanographic, and other scientific surveys.
Reclassified AGSC-13 on 29 July, James M. Gilliss departed Bikini 19 August. Steaming via 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...
, she reached San Francisco, California
San 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...
, 30 September. Assigned to duty with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, she departed San Francisco 23 November and arrived Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, 23 December. From March 1947 to May 1950 she operated from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and she participated in coastal surveys off Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. Arriving New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
12 May 1950, she decommissioned 22 September and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Converted to minehunter
Converted to a minehunter, James M. Gilliss reclassified AMc(U)-13 on 18 August 1951 and recommissioned 5 September 1951, Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth E. Carter in command; Assigned to the Atlantic Mine Fleet 18 February 1952, she operated out of New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
until 20 March 1953 when she was assigned to the Mine Hunting Unit at Little Creek, Virginia. From 1953 to 1958 she operated primarily in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, conducting training exercises and testing and evaluating precise navigation equipment. In addition she operated along the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and during November and December 1956 she trained in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Reclassified MHC-13 on 1 February 1955, she operated out of Little Creek until June 1958 when she steamed to Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....
. She decommissioned there 6 August 1958 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Navy List
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
1 January 1960, and sold to Marlene Blouse Corp. by 17 June.