|
USS ''Auk'' (AM-57) was an acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. ''Auk'' was named after the auk, a diving bird native to the colder climates of the northern hemisphere. The second warship of the U.S. Navy to be named ''Auk'', the ship was laid down on 15 April 1941 at Portsmouth, Virginia, by the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched on 26 August; sponsored by Miss Priscilla Alden Hague, the daughter of Comdr. Wesley M. Hague; and commissioned on 15 January 1942, Lt. Comdr. George W. Allen in command. == Participation in Operation "Torch"== After shakedown and training off the Virginia Capes, the new minesweeper operated along the Atlantic coast until October when she received orders to join the Western Naval Task Force for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. She sortied from Norfolk, Virginia, on the 23rd of that month as a part of the Center Attack Group, bound for Fedhala Roads just off the Moroccan coast. Shortly before midnight on 7 November the task force arrived in position and began disembarking troops for the landing at dawn on the 8th. Just a few minutes after 0500, a little French steamer escorted by the trawler ''Victoria'' blundered into the columns of transports offshore. investigated the intruders, crossing the French trawler's bow and ordering him to reverse engines. For an answer, the scrappy little Frenchman tried to ram ''Hogan''. The high speed minesweeper swept ''Victoria'' with 20-millimeter gunfire and stopped the trawler dead. ''Auk'' placed a prize crew on board, then continued screening the transport area. At 1200, began laying a minefield to the east as a protection for the Center Attack Group. While screening the minelayer, ''Auk'' and engaged the Vichy French patrol vessel ''W-43'' which was escorting six merchant and fishing vessels through the transport area. They captured the corvette with a minimal amount of trouble and also took three of the other ships. ''Auk'' worked out of Casablanca, French Morocco, operating as a convoy escort, a screening ship, and a harbor patrol boat until 11 April 1943, when she headed west with a homeward-bound convoy. Following her arrival at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 30th, the minesweeper proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia, for drydocking and overhaul. From June to April 1944, ''Auk'' escorted convoys from Norfolk and New York to ports in the Caribbean and along the U.S. Gulf coast. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Auk (AM-57)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|