USS Snowbell
.jpg) Snowbell (AN-52) tending nets, date and place unknown.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Snowbell |
| Builder | Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company, Stockton, California |
| Laid down | 3 May 1943 as Snowbell (YN-71) |
| Launched | 14 September 1943 |
| Commissioned | 16 March 1944 as USS Snowbell (AN-52) |
| Decommissioned | 5 December 1945 |
| Reclassified | as AN-52 on 20 January 1944 |
| Stricken | 19 December 1945 |
| Honors and awards | one Okinawa Gunto operation) |
| Fate | Damaged beyond economical repair by Typhoon Louise off Okinawa, 9 October 1945; hulk blown up, 14 January 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Ailanthus-class net laying ship |
| Tonnage | 1,100 tons |
| Displacement | 1,275 tons |
| Length | 194' 6" |
| Beam | 37' |
| Draft | 13' 6" |
| Speed | 12.1 knots |
| Complement | 56 |
| Armament |
|
USS Snowbell (YN-71/AN-52) was a
Okinawa
, 9 October 1945.
Career
Snowbell (AN-52) was laid down on 3 May 1943 by
Small Craft Training Center
.
On 24 December 1944, the ship entered the yard of
Craig Shipbuilding, Long Beach, California, for alteration and refitting. Her main mast was removed and two 20 millimeter guns were added. On 27 January 1945, loaded with nets and moorings, Snowbell sailed for Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii
.
Snowbell arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 February. A week later, she sailed for
Kerama Retto
on 28 March and began laying a curtain of nets to protect American shipping from possible submarine attack.
Snowbell tended nets at Kerama Retto until 15 May and then moved to
starboard side. At 1630, she went aground. On the reef only a few minutes, the ship's timbers began to break up. The ship was pounded by high winds and heavy seas. The next morning, the commanding officer
ordered all hands to leave the ship lest she capsize.
On 30 October, an
Navy list
on 19 December 1945, and her hulk was blown up on 14 January 1946.
Snowbell received one battle star for World War II service in the Okinawa Gunto operation.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- NavSource Online: YN-71 / AN-52 Snowbell
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1945 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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