USS ''Nightingale'' (AMc-149) was a

coastal minesweeper Coastal minesweeper is a term used by the United States Navy to indicate a minesweeper intended for coastal use as opposed to participating in fleet operations at sea. Because of its small size—usually less than 100 feet in length—and construct ...

acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. The fourth ''Nightingale'' was built by

Western Boat Building Co Western Boat Building Company was a company based in Tacoma, Washington from 1916 until 1982. The company was founded by Martin Petrich, Joe M. Martinac and William Vickart. Within a few years, Joe Martinac left the partnership to go to the Tacoma S ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, in 1940 as ''Saint Francis'', a wooden hulled,

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

-powered

purse seiner A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

. She was acquired by the Navy from her owner, Hubert Ursich, at Tacoma 13 December 1941. Designated ''YP–150'', she performed district patrol duties in the

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, area.

World War II service

''YP-150'' entered the

. yard at Tacoma 21 December for conversion to a

. Renamed ''Nightingale'' 22 April 1942, she was placed in service as ''AMc-149'' at Seattle 21 May. Redesignated ''IX-177'' on 10 July 1944, after all the minesweeping equipment had been removed, she continued operations in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

area. These included utility services with the Torpedo Training Program out of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. She was placed out of service 3 December 1945 at the

Naval Shipyard,

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

, 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 ...

7 February 1946, and returned to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

for disposal.

References

External links

Photo gallery
at navsource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Nightingale (Amc-149) Ships built in Tacoma, Washington 1940 ships Minesweepers of the United States Navy World War II minesweepers of the United States Ships built by the Western Boat Building Company Yard patrol boats of the United States Navy