The first USS ''Lark'' (AM-21) was a in the United States Navy. She was named for the lark. ''Lark'' was laid down 11 March 1918 by Baltimore Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co.,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland; launched 6 August 1918; sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Stanley; and commissioned 12 April 1919.

World War I mine clearance duties

''Lark'' departed Boston, Massachusetts 3 July 1919 to join the North Sea Minesweeping Detachment at Kirkwall,

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, Scotland. Reporting 15 July, she participated in the last three operations conducted to clear the more than 70,000 mines laid during World War I. The U.S. Navy had laid more than 80 percent of these mines and had accepted the responsibility of removing them. With the conclusion of the final sweep, 19 September, ''Lark'' returned to Kirkwall for a brief rest after the assignment, made more dangerous by the strong winds, rough seas, and poor visibility of the North Sea. She got underway for the United States 1 October and steaming via

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, England, Brest, and

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, and arrived in New York 19 November.

Post-World War I operations

The minesweeper operated from

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

, 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 ...

, with winter deployments in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, until 1931. During that period she transited the Panama Canal twice, on a voyage to Hawaii for

Fleet Problem V The Fleet Problems are a series of naval exercises of the United States Navy conducted in the interwar period, and later resurrected by Pacific Fleet around 2014. The first twenty-one Fleet Problems — labeled with roman numerals as Fleet Proble ...

in 1925. On 2 February 1931 she departed the Massachusetts coast for the Pacific Ocean, arriving at Oahu 25 April. She operated out of Pearl Harbor for the next 10 years, making periodic cruises to Samoa. In 1941, as tension increased in the Far East, ''Lark'' was ordered to the Philippines. Departing 8 May she headed for Manila, arriving 31 May and reporting for duty with Mine Division 9,

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

, at Cavite soon afterwards. There on 8 December (7 December east of the

International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...

) she received word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and prepared for a similar move on Cavite. The expected worst came on the 10th.

Surviving Japanese attack on the Philippines

After aiding survivors of the bombing of the Navy Yard, ''Lark'' worked her way south to the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. Arriving in Javanese waters on the 22nd, she began minesweeping and antisubmarine patrol. At first operating out of

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

, she moved in February 1942 to Tjilatjap, the last Allied port in Java. On 1 March she was ordered to western Australia to protect the new logistics center at Exmouth Gulf, and for the next two years cruised the coast of Australia from Exmouth Gulf to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Conversion to fleet tug

Redesignated twice, as fleet

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

AT-168 on 1 March 1944, and again on 15 May as ATO-168, ''Lark'' arrived at Brisbane for overhaul and conversion 20 May. Conversion complete, ''Lark'' departed for the ''Admiralties'' on 6 July. She served there four months in towing and rescue activities, operating between

Manus Manus may refer to: * Manus (anatomy), the zoological term for the distal portion of the forelimb of an animal (including the human hand) * ''Manus'' marriage, a type of marriage during Roman times Relating to locations around New Guinea * Man ...

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...

, and

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

. On 13 October ''Lark'' sailed from Melanesia and joined a convoy headed for San Pedro Bay, Philippine Islands. Dropping anchor on Leyte Gulf on the 25th, she remained off Leyte until 9 November rendering assistance to naval vessels and merchantmen damaged during the fighting and the typhoon winds which followed. Standing out in convoy from Leyte Gulf on 9 November, ''Lark'', with in tow, steamed for

. There she resumed towing and salvage duties, operating in the New Guinea- Admiralties area until 16 October 1945. She then departed Manus for Majuro en route Pearl Harbor, arriving 9 November.

Decommissioning

Ordered to San Francisco, two weeks later, she decommissioned 7 February 1946, and 15 January 1947 was transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal. ''Lark'' received two battle stars for World War II service.

References

External links

*
Minesweeper USS ''Lark'' AM-21, Tutuila, Samoa, 1936. USS Louisville CA-28, Pago Pago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lark (AM-21) Lapwing-class minesweepers Ships built in Baltimore 1918 ships World War I minesweepers of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Lapwing-class minesweepers converted to tugs