USS Auk (AM-38)

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Coordinates: 10°28′06″N 67°59′00″W / 10.468322°N 67.983308°W / 10.468322; -67.983308
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see USS Auk.


About 1935 in the Aleutian Islands
History
United States
Cost$594,332 (hull and machinery)[1]
Laid down20 June 1918
Launched28 September 1918
Commissioned31 January 1919
Stricken28 January 1947
Identificationpennant number AM–38
FateSold to Venezuelan Navy
Venezuela
NameFelipe Larrazabal
Acquired9 June 1947
Decommissioned1962
Identificationpennant number R-11
Fateabandoned
General characteristics
Displacement950 long tons (970 t)
Length187 ft 10 in (57.25 m)
Beam35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Draught9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) (mean)
Propulsiontriple-expansion engine, one shaft
Speed14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement82
ArmamentTwo .30-cal (7.62 mm)
Lewis guns

USS Auk (AM-38) was a

minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy
after World War I to remove mines that had been placed during the war.

The first ship to be named Auk by the Navy, Minesweeper No. 38 was laid down on 20 June 1918 at

New York Navy Yard on 31 January 1919.[2]

Between

Coast and Geodetic Survey
, and was renamed USS Discoverer (ARS-3) as well as USC&GS Discoverer.

World War I-related service

On completion of her initial fitting out and dock trials, Auk proceeded to

3d Naval District. On 2 March, Auk sailed for Newport, Rhode Island, in company with USS Curlew (AM-8) (Minesweeper No. 8) and arrived there the next morning. Returning to the Mine Sweeping Base at New York on the morning of the 6th, Auk left New York waters the following afternoon, bound for Boston, Massachusetts.[2]

Surviving a savage North Atlantic storm

The

minesweeper, rolling and pitching heavily as the winds and seas rose, was proceeding on her coastwise voyage when, in the predawn darkness of the 0000-0400 watch on 8 March, men in the crews' compartment detected water entering their space at an alarming rate. While some of the crew bailed doggedly, others rigged a "handy billy", and, later, a wrecking pump, in an effort to cope with the flooding. With water coming on board faster than it could be removed the ship sought refuge.[2]

Auk accordingly altered course at 0905 and plunged through the rough seas and a curtain of fog, while her

Montauk Point.[2]

She reached the

paravanes ("Burney Gear") were installed in the ship and she underwent necessary upkeep. She departed the yard late on the afternoon of 14 April, standing out of President Roads to anchor for the night off Provincetown, Massachusetts.[2]

On the morning of 15 April, after calibrating her compasses Auk got underway for the

Orkney Islands, joining three of her sister ships: USS Heron (AM-10) (Minesweeper No. 10), USS Sanderling (AM-37) (Minesweeper No. 37), and Oriole. All went well until two days from their destination, when steering gear problems briefly disabled first Heron, and then Auk; each time Oriole's took them under tow. Ultimately, the four minesweepers reached Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, on 29 April 1919, shortly after the Minesweeping Detachment flagship, the destroyer tender USS Black Hawk (AD-9) (Destroyer Tender No. 9), had arrived to establish headquarters there for the ensuing operations.[2]

Mine clearance

Among the last of the minesweepers to reach the Orkney Islands Auk missed the first, experimental, mine clearance (29 April to 2 May). However, Auk suffered the first fatality of the operation on 3 May when a crewman was fatally crushed while unreeling sweep wire from the drum of the anchor engine. A Naval Board of Inquiry which met to ascertain the particulars of the death of the boatswain's mate recommended that safety guards be installed on that equipment in all sweepers to prevent similar accidents.[2]

Over the next five months, Auk and her sister ships - together with a group of 110-foot subchasers ((SC's)) supported by an Allied flotilla of British and American logistics and repair ships and loaned British Admiralty

U-boats in the North Sea. Auk spent over 95 days on the minefields in the often "dirty" weather associated with the North Sea as they carried out their unprecedented mission of clearing the sea lanes to permit a resumption of civilian commerce in the wake of World War I.[2]

Tow wire wraps around Auk's prop

Underway from

Shetland Islands. There, British divers from the tender Edna removed the sweep wire on 13 May.[2]

Continued minesweeping after repairs

Auk returned to the minefields and teamed with Oriole to conduct a sweep on the afternoon of the 14th. During her first pass she cut loose three mines, one fouling the "kite" astern and the other two fouling the line itself. Over the next few days, Auk carried out the repetitious task of sweeping, again in company with Oriole. Auk had a near miss on the 15th when a mine exploded nearby.[2]

The minesweeper varied her daily routine in the minefields - which lasted into late May by escorting SC-356 to Lerwick and back on 17 and 18 May. During the latter half of the month, Auk teamed with, on different occasions, Oriole, USS Swan (AM-34) (Minesweeper No. 34), or USS Kingfisher (AM-25) (Minesweeper No. 25). Returning to Kirkwall on 29 May, Auk refueled there from the British tanker Aspenleaf.[2]

Damaged in third barrage clearance operation

During June, Auk participated in the third clearance operation on the barrage, getting underway from Kirkwall for the minefields on 5 June and returning to port on the 27th. She broke up the routine with brief visits to Kirkwall and

boilers. but she resumed sweeping operations the next day.[2]

Auk serves as flagship

During the next two minesweeping operations that followed Auk served as the

Roscoe C. Bulmer, a highly regarded man, revered by the men he commanded.[2] Capt. Bulmer embarked for the first time at Kirkwall on 7 July 1919 when he broke his broad pennant in Auk shortly before she proceeded to sea. That day, she teamed with Oriole in sweeping a portion of the field that had been laid on 13 October of the previous year and, on the following day, swept in company with USS Eider (AM-17) (Minesweeper No. 17).[2]

Mine damage to several ships

A chronicler of the North Sea Mine Barrage clearance wrote about 9 July: "...misfortune did not rain; it poured". Mines damaged three minesweepers, the tug, USS Patuxent (AT-11), and a subchaser. Again sweeping in company with Eider, Auk hit a mine at 0925 that detonated another mine 25 yards (23 m) off her starboard bow in a chain reaction; there was also a third explosion (probably caused by the second) 30 yards astern, carrying away the sweep and resulting in the loss of a "kite" and 70 fathoms (130 m) of wire.[2]

Auk tries to rescue Pelican, damaged by mines

At 1000, an upper level mine exploded beneath USS Pelican (AM-27) (Minesweeper No. 27), which in turn triggered five simultaneous countermines around her. Pelican heavily hit, battered, and holed, assumed a list before beginning to settle. Auk, with Capt. Bulmer directing the rescue operations, immediately altered course to close with her sister ship.[2]

Passing a line at 1008, within 10 minutes of the explosions, she drew alongside Pelican. After one hose line parted, Auk passed another to aid Pelican in pumping out the rapidly rising water below-decks. However, the rough seas repeatedly slammed the ships together, damaging lines and hoses and forcing their replacement. At 1054, USS Teal (AM-23) (Minesweeper No. 23) passed a towline and began moving ahead with the crippled Pelican, in turn tethered to Auk, astern.[2]

Eider fell in with the group as it labored ahead, securing to Pelican's

starboard side, Eider and Auk acting much in the fashion of waterwings, keeping their sister ship afloat between them. Difficulties soon arose, however, as the ships struggled toward Orkney. A head sea sprang up, tossing the minecraft about and straining moorings and hose lines. Pump lines were carried away and Pelican began to settle further by the bow. The pressure of the water in the flooded forward compartments in the damaged ship now buckled and distorted the forward fireroom bulkhead, the only barrier that could save Pelican from sinking.[2]

At 2300, Capt. Bulmer ordered most of Pelican''s crew transferred to Eider. A dozen volunteers chosen from the crew remained on board Pelican. Gradually, however, the pumps of Auk and Eider, working full capacity after the lines had been repaired and again placed in operation, succeeded in lowering Pelican''s waterline. The battle to keep Pelican afloat continued on into the night and into the predawn darkness, men standing by with axes to chop through the mooring lines should Pelican give any indication of imminent sinking.[2]

Finally, on the morning of 10 July, the valiant little flotilla limped into Tresness Bay where Auk's pumps continued to help lower her sister ship's waterline even further.[2]

Underway to return to Kirkwall at 1726, Auk reached her destination a little over four hours later and Capt. Bulmer (whose seamanship many credited with having saved Pelican) disembarked. The next day Auk took Rear Admiral Elliott Strauss, Commander, Mine Force, from Kirkwall to Inverness, Scotland, before she returned to Kirkwall, ready to resume operations.[2]

Captain Bulmer killed in an auto accident

Shortly after midnight on 22 July, Capt. Bulmer transferred his command pennant from Black Hawk to Auk and wore it in the ship as she teamed with Oriole during the detachment's fifth mine clearance operation. Capt. Bulmer disembarked for the last time at 0017 on 1 August and, tragically, just three days later suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident. He died on 5 August, and his loss was felt tremendously throughout the detachment, since his intrepid personality had stamped itself on the force and inspired it during his time in command.[2]

Auk loses another boatswain's mate to the sea

Auk subsequently took part in two additional minesweeping operations that lasted through late September, drawing her participation in this epic venture to a close when she anchored at Kirkwall on 26 September 1919. During the first of these missions (mid-to-late August), Auk ranged as far as the coast of Norway, touching at the ports of Stavanger and Hangeand, and Bommel Fjord. During this operation, Auk suffered her second fatality: at 0715 on 31 August a kite wire, jumping out of a chock, knocked Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Lee A. Singleton over the side. Auk immediately commenced maneuvering to pick him up, cutting the sweep wire, throwing over a life buoy, and hoisting the man overboard signal, but a one-hour search failed to find the missing man.[2]

Repaired at Invergordon from mine damage

Drydocked at Invergordon on 2 and 3 September to repair damage suffered when mines exploded close aboard on 30 August, Auk performed local tug and towing duties at Kirkwall in mid-September before resuming operations in the minefields later that month.[2]

European tour after completion of North Sea work

After completing her work in the

Lisbon, Portugal, for a brief period of upkeep alongside Black Hawk, Auk began her homeward voyage on the afternoon of 24 October.[2]

Auk refueling at sea from Black Hawk while approaching Bermuda on 11 November, an event necessitated by the discovery two days before that the after peak tank had leaked salt water, thus contaminating the oil. Reducing speed to conserve fuel, Auk was taken in tow by Swallow later that day, the former hoisting sail to help in keeping on course. On the morning of the 10th, Auk went alongside Black Hawk in an attempt at underway replenishment, only to have the fuel hose carry away and foul the minesweeper's propeller. Black Hawk then towed Auk throughout the night. In another attempt at refueling between 0925 and 1115 the next morning, Auk took on board 20 tons of oil and reached Grassy Bay, Bermuda, six hours later.[2]

The Secretary of the Navy welcomes minesweepers back to the States

Auk reached

dreadnoughts returned from service abroad" and "voiced the country's appreciation of the magnificent and successful completion of that most hazardous and strenuous operation."[2]

Between the wars activity and inactivity

The Minesweeping Detachment was demobilized, and its ships scattered throughout the fleet. Auk departed Tompkinsville on the morning of 27 November and, with

Minesweeping Squadron, on 8 January 1921.[2]

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey career

Main article: USC&GS Discoverer (1918)

While Auk lay in reserve, the

Coast and Geodetic Survey on 7 April 1922.[2]

Discoverer served in the Coast and Geodetic Survey as a survey ship until the summer of 1941, primarily in the waters of the Territory of Alaska.

World War II operations

With the expansion of the American Navy during this time between the outbreak of war in Europe and the entry of the United States in the conflict (1939 to 1941), that service cast about for auxiliary vessels to support the growing number of combatant ships.[2]

Executive Order of 19 June 1941 authorized the Navy to take USC&GS Discoverer over for service as a

Ketchikan on 22 July 1941, bound for Seattle and turnover to the Navy.[2]

Arriving at Seattle on 25 July, Discoverer—the retention of her name by the Navy approved on 5 August 1941. On the afternoon of 26 August Lt. Comdr. E. Froberg accepted custody of the ship. Assigned to the Lake Union plant, at Seattle, in October 1941 for

U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.[2]

Delivered to salvage firm of Merritt, Chapman and Scott, Inc., who were to operate the vessel under a contract let by the

Cold Bay, Nome, and Women's Bay.[2]

Discoverer assisted the

Prince Rupert Island on 20 November 1943 and required assistance from the Navy tug USS Tatnuck (ATO-27).[2]

Post-World War II activity

Constitución
behind.

Following repairs, Discoverer remained with Merritt, Chapman, and Scott into 1946. After it had been recommended on 18 November 1946 that the ship be struck from the

Navy list on 28 January 1947.[2]

Auk was sold to the government of Venezuela on 9 June 1947 and renamed Felipe Larrazabal (R-11). The ship was decommissioned in 1962 and eventually abandoned at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela where the hulk is visible as of 2015.[3]

References

  • This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  • Davis, Noel (1919). Sweeping the North Sea Mine Barrage. North Sea Minesweeping Detachment.
  • "The Northern Barrage": (Taking Up the Mines). U.S. Government Printing Office. 1920.
  • Photo gallery of USS Auk (AM-38) at NavSource Naval History
  1. ^ "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 762. 1921.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai "Auk I (Minesweeper No. 38)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
  3. ^ "USS Discoverer (ARS 3), ex-USC&GS Discoverer, ex-USS Auk (AM 38), ex-Minesweeper No. 38". Navsource.org. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016.

External links


10°28′06″N 67°59′00″W / 10.468322°N 67.983308°W / 10.468322; -67.983308

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