USS ''Elder'' (AN-20/YN-15) was an ''Aloe''-class

net laying ship A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

which was assigned to serve the U.S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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.

Built in West Virginia

''Elder'' (YN-15) was launched 19 June 1941 by Marietta Manufacturing Company, Point Pleasant, West Virginia; and placed in service 12 November 1941. She was redesignated ''AN-20'' on 20 January 1944.

World War II service

Serving in the

1st 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 ...

''Elder'' laid and tended nets at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, until 15 March 1942, then sailed to Portland, Maine, to serve as controlling gate vessel in Hussey Sound. She was commissioned 15 December 1942. ''Elder'' returned to Boston 25 June 1943, and sailed 8 August, 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 ...

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 ...

, and Funafuti, Ellice Islands, arriving 15 November. She assembled, launched, and tended nets there, and after the capture of the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

, sailed to

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Makin, and

Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of ...

. Departing the Gilberts in February 1944 with ''LCT-247'' in tow for

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...

, she laid and cared for nets in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

until the end of the year. After an overhaul on the U.S. West Coast, ''Elder'' returned to the South

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 ...

to repair nets at the fleet base at Manus, arriving there 30 April 1945. The following month she got underway for

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, searching for and towing the disabled merchant tanker ''SS McKitterick'' Hills en route. She delivered the tanker to

Mangarin San Jose, officially the Municipality of San Jose ( tgl, Bayan ng San Jose), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 153,267, representing a third of ...

Bay,

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, then continued to Subic Bay for voyage repairs. ''Elder'' remained in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

for the rest of the war. She laid

sonar buoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic resea ...

moorings to protect against Japanese

s entering Subic Bay; made a sounding survey of North Channel between

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

and

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

; and in September began plotting the position of known wrecks in Manila Harbor. In October she returned to Subic Bay to remove and salvage net defense.

End-of-war activity

''Elder'' sailed back to Corregidor in November 1945 for a unique assignment. Until May 1946 she conducted diving operations in Caballo Bay to recover thousands of silver

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...

s, Philippine currency, which had been dumped in the bay to prevent its capture by the Japanese. Remaining in the Philippines, ''Elder'' operated from her base at Subic Bay on a variety of assignments. She assisted in the decommissioning of small craft; maintained moorings; transported passengers and cargo between Philippine ports; and occasionally escorted small craft to

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 ...

Post-war activity

''Elder'' returned to the U.S. West Coast 3 August 1948 for duty at the Naval Net Depot at Tiburon, California. On 23 May 1949 she sailed for

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

n waters where she conducted buoy operations at Adak; carried a scientific party from

Great Sitkin Island Great Sitkin Island ( ale, Sitх̑naх̑; russian: Большой Ситкин) is a volcanic island in the Andreanof Islands of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island covers a total area of and lies slightly north of a group of islands whi ...

to Adak; and transported three Navy petty officers to service the weather station of Simeonoff Island. She returned to her base at Tiburon 13 October 1949.

Fire aboard the vessel at sea

In 1950 ''Elder'' was ordered to the western

, but on 11 March when a week out of

, a serious fire broke out in the engine room. With all headway lost and no water pressure, ''Elder'' appeared doomed. But sound training and Navy "know-how," combined with determined courage in the ship's intrepid

damage control In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: * rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and * damage from grounding (runn ...

parties, subdued the raging flames. Her engines damaged beyond repair, the stricken net tender drifted helplessly for a week before assistance in the form of ''Comstock'' (LSD-19) and ''Piedmont'' (AD-17) arrived on 18 March. The next day ''Elder'' was taken in tow by ''Deliver'' (ARS-23) and began the long slow haul to

Korean War support

Her extensive repairs complete, ''Elder'' sailed from Pearl Harbor 26 January 1951 for net operations at Yokosuka, Japan, a key operating base in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. She returned to Tiburon 27 January 1952, and except for occasional cruises to

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 ...

for net and buoy operations, served on the west coast. In April 1954 she was assigned to the

13th 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 ...

for training duty with the harbor defense unit of the Pacific Northwest.

Final decommissioning

She was decommissioned there 18 December 1959.

Honors and awards

Elder received 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 ...

for World War II service because of her participation in the

operation.

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YN-15 / AN-20 Elder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder (AN-20) Aloe-class net laying ships Ships built in Point Pleasant, West Virginia 1941 ships World War II net laying ships of the United States Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States