USS ''Gavia'' (AM-363) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was ordered and laid down as USS ''PCE-907'' but was renamed and reclassified before her September 1943 launch as ''Gavia'' (AM-363). She earned two battle stars in service in the Pacific during World War II. In May 1946, she was turned over to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

for service with the

Chinese Maritime Customs Service The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Republ ...

as ''Yung Chun''. She was removed from service in June 1962.

Career

''Gavia'' was laid down as ''PCE-907'' on 8 July 1943 by Willamette Iron & Steel Corp.,

Portland Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, launched 18 September 1943 sponsored by Mrs. James E. Ray; reclassified as AM-363 on 27 September 1943; and commissioned as ''Gavia'' (AM-363) 23 July 1945. After trials in the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

''Gavia'' departed

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

, 10 August 1945 for mine warfare exercises at San Pedro and San Diego, California. She departed San Pedro 26 September and reached Honolulu 4 October 1945. After additional minesweeping training in Hawaiian waters, she departed Pearl Harbor 26 October for minesweeping operations in the Far East. Proceeding, via Eniwetok and

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 ...

she arrived Wakayama, Japan, 27 November. Steaming to Sasebo 3 December, ''Gavia'' spent the remainder of the month sweeping for mines in Tsushima Strait, Okino Shima, Tachabana Wan. She continued minesweeping exercises at Sasebo until 17 February 1946 then sailed for Buckner Bay, Okinawa. After serving as reference ship for Japanese minesweepers clearing waters off

Miyako Jima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako Island is administered as part of the City of Miyakojima, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other populated island ...

, she arrived Subic Bay 19 March and removed her ordnance gear. She departed 9 April and reached Shanghai 13 April. She decommissioned there 29 May 1946 and was turned over to the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

for transfer to the

Chinese Maritime Customs The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Republ ...

as ''Yung Chun''. Her name was struck from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register on 19 July 1946. She was decommissioned and stricken from the rolls of the Republic of China on 1 June 1962. Her ultimate fate is unreported in

secondary source In Scholarly method, scholarship, a secondary sourcePrimary, secondary and tertiary ...

Awards

''Gavia'' received two battle stars for World War II service.

References

*
NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Gavia (AM 363) - ex-PCE-907
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavia (AM-363) PCE-905-class patrol craft Admirable-class minesweepers Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1943 ships World War II patrol vessels of the United States World War II minesweepers of the United States Yung Chun