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USS Oracle (AM-103)
Encyclopedia
USS Oracle (AM-103) was an built for 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...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was commissioned in May 1943 and decommissioned in May 1946. She was placed in reserve and remained there until struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
in December 1966. She was sunk as a target in 1967.
Career
Oracle was laid down by the General Engineering & Dry Dock CompanyGeneral Engineering & Dry Dock Company
General Engineering & Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding company in Alameda, California that was active from the 1920s through the 1940s. Relatively little is known about the history of the shipyard, but the company built ships for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the United States Coast Guard in...
of Alameda, California
Alameda, 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...
, 7 May 1942; launched 30 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Sadie L. Jones; and commissioned 14 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. William H. Putnam, USNR, in command.
Getting underway from Alameda, California on 27 June, Oracle steamed to Adak, Alaska
Adak, Alaska
Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...
, to spend the next five months in towing, escort, patrol, salvage, and survey operations in the Aleutians area. She furnished minesweeping and antisubmarine screening support for the occupation of Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
15 to 22 August.
Departing Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...
1 December, Oracle arrived at 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...
the 10th. On her first operation in the central Pacific Ocean
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...
, the invasion of 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...
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...
, 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...
, 31 January to 3 February 1944, she swept landing channels and took soundings for chart preparation. Oracle then proceeded to 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...
, arriving the next day for antisubmarine patrol until the 14th. On 15 February Oracle got underway in convoy for Eniwetok, arriving two days later to mark the channel for the landing craft assault that same day. She again patrolled against enemy submarines until she departed Eniwetok on 12 April for Pearl Harbor.
Following training from 20 April until 29 May for the invasion of 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...
, Oracle returned to the Marshalls to join a task group off Eniwetok on 14 June. The minesweeper arrived off Tanapag
Tanapag
Tanapag is a settlement on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is located close to Tanapag Beach on the northwest coast, just to the north of Capital Hill, the island group's centre of government...
Harbor, Saipan, the next day for minesweeping and screening before moving on to Magicienne Bay
Magicienne Bay
Magicienne Bay, also known as Laulau Bay, is a large bay on the southeast of the island Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It covers nearly one sixth of the island's east coast, from Saipan International Airport in the south to the popular, yet isolated, Laulau Beach in the north. The village...
. On 10 July Oracle rescued two Japanese survivors on a makeshift raft off Saipan. By the 24th the ship was off Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
for the landings and mop-up operations to 4 August. She spent most of September patrolling off the southern Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
before escorting the tanker to 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...
, arriving the 20th.
From 1 to 10 October Oracle was on emergency chemical smoke watch off Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...
, Guam, to protect shipping from Japanese air attack. She continued service off Guam and in operations to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
until proceeding to Okinawa. Patrolling there on 6 May she assisted in shooting down three Japanese planes. On 14 May Oracle departed Guam for the U.S. West Coast, via Pearl Harbor, arriving Seattle, Washington
Seattle, 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...
, 6 July. Fighting stopped during overhaul. Oracle got underway for Pearl Harbor on 29 August, arriving 5 September. Reporting to Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 5 November, she participated in the mine clearance of the Formosa Straits area, until 23 December when she reached Shanghai, China. On 3 January 1946 Oracle departed Shanghai for Pearl Harbor, via Sasebo, arriving the 31st.
The minesweeper Oracle steamed for home in the spring of 1946, arriving 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...
, to be decommissioned on 29 May and enter the Pacific Reserve Fleet there. On 7 February 1955 Oracle was redesignated MSF–103. On 1 December 1966 the Oracle was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
. The fleet minesweeper was stripped and used as a target for the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
in the winter of 1967.