USS Sheldrake (AM-62) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

USS Sheldrake (AM-62/AGS-19) 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. The ship was named after the sheldrake duck. The ship earned four battle stars during World War II. She was converted to a survey ship and re-designated AGS-19 in 1952 and remained in commission until 1968. She was sold for scrap in 1971.

Career

Sheldrake (AM-62) was laid down on 24 June 1941 by the General Engineering & Dry Dock Company

General 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...

; launched on 12 February 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Helen Nicolini; and commissioned on 14 October 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. F. Porter, USNR, in command. After fitting out at Alameda, California, and making a short shakedown cruise

Shakedown cruise

Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....

in the San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...

area, Sheldrake departed to join 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...

bound for 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...

, 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...

.

She arrived there on the first anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack and remained for three weeks. On 28 December, she got underway for Suva

Suva

Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

Island, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

, where she stopped from 7 to 12 January 1943, before heading on to the Allied base at Nouméa

Nouméa

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...

, New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

. After a trip to Efate

Éfaté

Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...

in the New Hebrides

New Hebrides

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

and back, from 17 to 27 January 1943, she departed Nouméa to join the escort of the first of many convoys, this one bound for Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....

. For the next 15 months, the auxiliary minesweeper criss-crossed the South Pacific shepherding convoys between bases in the New Hebrides, Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

. New Caledonia; also making-occasional runs to New Zealand, Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

, and Fiji. Sheldrake also participated intermittently in patrols off Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

. From 2 Aug 1943 to 5 Nov 1943 Lt. R. G. Nichols, USN, commanded the Sheldrake throughout the Pacific Area of Operation.

On 4 May 1944, she departed Espiritu Santo bound for Florida Island in the Solomons. She arrived off' Koli Point, Guadalcanal, two days later, then moved on to Purvis Bay

Purvis Bay

Purvis Bay is located in the Florida Islands, which are part of the Solomon Islands. The bay was used by the US Navy during World War Two....

, Florida Island. Her operations were centered in the Solomon Islands for the next month, after which, on 4 June, she departed the vicinity of Tassafaronga bound for 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...

and staging for the 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...

invasion.

Sheldrake arrived at Kwajalein on 8 June and departed four days later for the 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...

area. She cruised around in the waters near Saipan until 2 July, ready to reinforce the assault force if necessary. On that date, she departed the area for Eniwetok Atoll, where she remained from 13 to 17 July. The auxiliary minesweeper went from Eniwetok 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...

with Task Group 53.2. For the next two months, she stayed in the vicinity of Guam screening and engaging in hunter-killer antisubmarine operations, and putting in at 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...

periodically for logistics. On 19 September. Sheldrake cleared the Marianas again on the first leg of a voyage to 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...

. After stops at Eniwetok, 24 to 25 September, and at Pearl Harbor, 5 to 7 October, she entered San Francisco, California on 14 October. She shifted to the yards of the General Engineering and Dry Dock Co. on the next day and commenced a 14-week overhaul.

On 22 January 1945, Sheldrake departed San Francisco, California. After stops at San Pedro, California and San Diego

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...

, she got underway for Pearl Harbor on 1 February. She laid over at Pearl Harbor from 9 to 19 February and entered Eniwetok lagoon on the 27th. She stood but of 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,...

on the 28th to rejoin the fleet. However, a damaged port shaft in her engine caused her to proceed independently 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...

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...

for repairs. She entered Ulithi Atoll on 6 March and went into drydock on the 14th. Sheldrake undocked two days later, but returned to drydock on the 21st. On 23 March, she undocked again and, on the 24th, got underway to escort survey ship, to Okinawa.

Upon arrival at Okinawa, five days later, she and Bowditch separated and Sheldrake joined Sweep Unit 7. The sweep unit headed for Nago Wan, Okinawa, and arrived the next day. Sheldrake was detached soon thereafter to become a unit of Sweep Unit 6. From 1 to 25 April, she did screening duty with Sweep Unit 6. On the 16th, an enemy Val attempted to crash Sheldrake, but her gunners cut his suicide dive short 20 yards astern of Sheldrake. On 25 April, she escorted a convoy of LST's to Saipan, arriving on 1 May. From Saipan, she moved to Guam. She arrived on 5 May and, for the next two weeks, remained in that area, conducting sweep exercises, screening operations, and docking for six days, from 11 to 17 May.

On 23 June, she exited Apra Harbor and arrived at Nakagasuku Wan (Buckner Bay), Okinawa, late on 1 July. For the next two months, she swept mines in the vicinity of Okinawa, putting in periodically at Buckner Bay. She exited Buckner Bay on 5 September to join minesweeping operations off the Chinese coast in the area of the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

. She arrived there on the 7th and cleared mines until 23 September, when she moored at Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

. In October, she swept mines from Chefoo Harbor and in the area of Jinsen, 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...

.

She returned to Shanghai on 16 October, swept mines there until 6 November, then headed for Takao

Takao

Takao may refer to:* Mount Takao in Tokyo, Japan* Kaohsiung, Taiwan: The Taiwanese and Japanese name before administration of Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China...

, Formosa

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. Sheldrake's commanding officer

Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...

directed minesweeping operations out of Takao until 21 December, and she reentered Shanghai on the 22d. On 3 January 1946, Sheldrake weighed anchor to return to the United States. On her way back, she stopped at Wakayama, Japan; Saipan; Eniwetok; and Pearl Harbor, before entering San Diego, California, on 1 March.

Decommissioned on 31 May 1946, Sheldrake joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed at San Diego, California. Sheldrake earned four battle stars for World War II.

Survey ship

Sheldrake recommissioned at San Diego, California, on 14 April 1952 and sailed to New York City for conversion to an oceanographic survey ship. Over the next 16 years, she plied the waters of the western Atlantic and the Caribbean, from Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

to 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...

, conducting over 25 separate surveys. On three occasions, Sheldrake left her normal area of operations to conduct surveys. Two of these cruises were to the Mediterranean, February to April 1958 and November 1965 to March 1966. The third departure from normal Atlantic Ocean operations came in July 1966 when she changed homeports, from New York City to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Departing Bayonne, New Jersey

Bayonne, New Jersey

Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...

, on 7 July, she laid over at 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....

, until 12 July; then got underway with for the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. They transited the canal on the 19th, visited Mazatlán

Mazatlán

Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...

, Mexico, on the 29th, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 12 August. After almost three months in Hawaii, Sheldrake deployed to the western Pacific on 9 November. For almost a year and one-half, she, and Towhee surveyed in the western Pacific, in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, and along the Southeast Asian coast. On 9 April, she returned to Pearl Harbor.

She remained in Hawaii until struck from the Navy List

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...

on 30 June 1968 and decommissioned on 1 August. She was turned over to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor until sold to Flynn-Learner of Honolulu on 2 November 1971 for scrapping.

External links

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