USS ''Bitterbush'' (AN-39/YN-58) was an which served with the U.S. Navy in the western Pacific Ocean theatre of operations during World War II. She served the U.S. Pacific Fleet with her protective anti-

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

nets, and returned home safely after the war with 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 ...

to her credit.

Built in Washington

The net tender ''Almond'' (YN-58) was laid down on 30 November 1942 at

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, by the

Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company was established in 1942 to build ships needed for World War II. Yard construction began on 1 March 1942. As part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program the US Navy provided some of the capital to star ...

; renamed ''Bitterbush'' on 3 April 1943; launched on 30 June 1943; sponsored by Miss Veberly Jean Miller; and commissioned on 15 January 1944.

World War II service

Redesignated a net laying ship, ''AN-39'', on 20 January 1944, ''Bitterbush'' completed outfitting on 26 February 1944, reported for duty to the Commander, Operational Training Command, Pacific, and departed

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, for

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 ...

, that same day. Following

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

training, ''Bitterbush'' reported for duty to the Commandant,

12th 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 Command ...

, arriving at

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 20 March. The ship worked the submarine nets at Tiburon, California, and San Francisco over the next eight months, before departing

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

on 29 November 1944. ''Bitterbush'' made stops at Port Hueneme,

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...

, and

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 ...

, before setting out across the Pacific Ocean on 5 December 1944. Proceeding to

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 ...

, the ship reported on 5 January 1945 to the Commander, 5th Amphibious Force, for duty. Underway from

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 ...

on 24 January 1945, the ship sailed via

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

. After voyage repairs, ''Bitterbush'' worked on the

net line at the recently conquered island through the end of hostilities with

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 ...

End-of-war decommissioning

On 17 September 1945, she sailed for the United States. Proceeding via

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, and

, the ship reached San Francisco by 20 October 1945. Entering drydock soon after her arrival, the net layer—although at one time considered for use removing anti-submarine nets in the

—remained drydocked at the

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

until decommissioned on 4 January 1946. Deemed surplus to Navy needs, ''Bitterbush'' 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 21 January 1946. Transferred to the

U.S. Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

for disposal on 6 May 1947, she was sold and converted for merchant service, in which capacity she operated from 1948 until destroyed by fire off

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

on 27 May 1954.

Honors and awards

''Bitterbush'' was awarded one

for her World War II service.

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YN-58 ''Almond'' / ''Bitterbush'' - AN-39 ''Bitterbush''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitterbush Ailanthus-class net laying ships of the United States Navy Ships built by Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company 1943 ships World War II net laying ships of the United States