USS ''Barbet'' (AMS-41/YMS-45) was a ''YMS-1''-class auxiliary motor minesweeper acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent ships from passing. ''YMS 45'' was laid down on 20 June 1941 at

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, by the Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 20 April 1942; and commissioned on 8 June 1942.

World War II service

After trials and outfitting, the motor minesweeper reported for duty to the Commander,

Eastern Sea Frontier The Eastern Sea Frontier (EASTSEAFRON) was a United States Navy operational command during World War II, that was responsible for the coastal waters from Canada to Jacksonville, Florida, extending out for a nominal distance of two hundred miles. T ...

. On 31 August, she departed

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, in company with ''YMS-44'', bound for

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. The ship operated as an escort vessel in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

through the end of the war in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. She was based at

until 4 October 1943 when she and ''YMS 44'' moved to

Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay ( es, Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off ...

, Cuba. On 6 June 1945, ''YMS-45'' headed for

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

, and arrived at Norfolk on the 11th.

Transfer to Pacific Fleet

She stood out to sea again on 18 July as an element of Task Unit (TU) 29.01, bound for the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The motor minesweeper transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

between 29 July and 1 August and reached

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, on 13 August. From that port, she shifted south to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, where she remained for seven weeks.

End-of-war operations

On 1 October, ''YMS-45'' put to sea and shaped a course for

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. The

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

entered

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

on the 13th and operated in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an waters until 1 December when, in company with four other motor minesweepers, she got underway for the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

. She and her colleagues arrived in

Buckner Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all in ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, on 20 December and conducted minesweeping operations in those waters for about a month. After a three-week visit to

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, in February 1946, the

returned home via

. She reached

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, on 28 March and remained there until 13 June. On that day, the ship headed south with task unit TU 99.12.9. Steaming by way of San Diego, she arrived in the Panama Canal Zone on 28 June. She entered port at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on 12 July and was decommissioned there on 5 August 1946.

Naval Reserve training ship

The minesweeper remained in reserve until 13 January 1947 when she was placed in service as a

school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

for reservists of the

3d Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Comman ...

. On 19 August 1947, ''YMS 45'' was named ''Barbet'' and redesignated ''AMS 41''.

Reactivation during Korean War

On 11 May 1950, the warship was placed in commission, in reserve. On 21 November 1950, she was placed in full commission. The minesweeper continued to serve as a school ship for New York reservists until early in 1952 when she was reassigned to

Mine Squadron MinRon is a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation for "Minesweeper Squadron." The Commander of a Minesweeper Squadron is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINRON (followed by a number), such as COMMINRON FOUR. Mine Groups A MinGru or MINGRU ...

(MinRon) 4 and to the Mine Countermeasures Station at

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

. That duty, punctuated by repair periods at various locations along the

U.S. East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard ...

, filled the remainder of her active career.

Final decommissioning

''Barbet'' was redesignated ''MSC0-41'' on 7 February 1955; but, on 18 April 1955, she began inactivation preparations at

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

. She was decommissioned at that port on 17 June 1955 and remained in reserve there for a little more than four years. Her name was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the 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 author ...

on 1 November 1960. Details regarding her ultimate disposition are unavailable, but, presumably, she was scrapped.

Military awards and honors

''Barbet'' (''AMS-41'') earned one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

as ''YMS-45'' for her role in the postwar minesweeping performed off

and in Japanese waters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbet (AMS-41) YMS-1-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Brooklyn 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Training ships of the United States Navy Cold War minesweepers of the United States