USS Siskin (AMS-58)
Encyclopedia
USS Siskin (AMS-58/YMS-425) was a 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 is the only U.S. Navy ship to be named for the siskin
Siskin
-Birds:The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words sisschen, zeischen, which are diminuative forms of Middle High German and Middle Low German words, which are themselves apparently of Slavic origin...
.
History
YMS-425, a motor minesweeperMotor minesweeper
A motor minesweeper is a small minesweeper, powered by an internal combustion engine, very often of wooden construction, designed to locate and destroy mines in coastal waters and harbours...
, was laid down on 6 June 1944 by the Astoria Marine Construction Co. at Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
; launched on 9 September 1944; and placed in service on 21 December 1944, Lt. Gustave J. Blasi, USNR, in command.
The motor minesweeper conducted training exercises and shakedown
Shakedown (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...
along the U.S. West Coast during the spring and early summer of 1945. On 10 August, she departed 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...
, and headed 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 spent 10 days in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
before getting underway for Okinawa on the 31st. She stopped at Eniwetok from 12 to 14 September, at 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 19 to 22 September, and made Okinawa on the 28th. From Okinawa, she headed to 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...
; and, for the next six months, she operated in Japanese coastal waters, sweeping mines for the occupation forces. YMS-425 completed her part in the minesweeping operation and, on 11 March 1946, shaped a course for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
After stops at 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...
, Eniwetok, Johnston Island, and 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 entered 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...
on 7 May. From 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...
, she moved via 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...
to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving there on 7 July 1946. YMS-425 decommissioned on 19 July 1946 and remained at Boston. On 1 September 1947, YMS-425 was renamed Siskin (AMS-58) and was assigned to the 1st Naval District at Boston for duty as a U.S. Naval Reserve training ship.
Siskin recommissioned at Boston in March 1950 under the command of Lt. F. W. Cole. She operated along the southeastern and gulf coasts of the United States, from 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....
, to Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
, assigned to Mine Division 42 (MinDiv 42) until January 1954. From January 1954 until January 1955, she was assigned to MinDiv
MinDiv
MinDiv is a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "Minesweeper Division."The Commander of a minesweeper division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINDIV , such as COMMINDIV EIGHT....
43 and served with the Naval Mine Countermeasures Station at Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
. In November 1954, her homeport was changed to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
; and, from January to April 1955, she was overhauled 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....
. On 7 February 1955, her designation was changed from AMS-58 to MSCO-58. After overhaul, she conducted refresher training, then returned to normal operations along the U.S. East Coast.
Siskin arrived in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, via the St. Lawrence Seaway, on 17 October 1957. She decommissioned there on 24 October and resumed duty as a Naval Reserve training ship. Later, she was transferred back to the 1st Naval District at Boston, Massachusetts, until 1 October 1968, when her name 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....
. She was subsequently sold for scrapping.