USS ''YP-345'' was a converted fishing vessel which served in 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 ...

History

YP-345 was commissioned by the Van Camp Sea Food Co. Inc. of Los Angeles and built by

Al Larson Boat Building Al Larson Boat Shop or Al Larson Boat Building is a shipbuilding and dry dock repair company in San Pedro, California on Terminal Island. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Al Larson Boat Shop built: US Navy Sub chasers and Minesweepers ...

at their

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 ...

shipyard. She was completed in 1939 as a wooden hulled tuna boat and christened the ''Yankee''. In 1942, soon after the attack on

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 US government requisitioned 52 of the 79 tuna clippers (including the ''Yankee'') in the California fleet (49 by the U.S. Navy and 3 by the U.S. Army). Although slow at 10 knots, the wooden hulls of the tuna boats made them ideal for mine sweeping operations and their refrigerated holds suitable for delivery of perishables. In addition, their crews were already seasoned and with minimal training, ready for service. The ''Yankee'' was painted grey and fitted with two .50 caliber machine guns and had the ability to fire depth charges. The ''Yankee'' was designated as a

yard patrol boat Yard Patrol craft are used by the United States Navy for training and for research purposes. They are designated as YP in the hull classification symbol system. They were nicknamed "Yippy boats" after the "YP" classification symbol. World War I ...

(''YP-345''). Ships of this class were affectionately known as "Yippies". She was sent to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

where Admiral

Chester W. Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in C ...

was preparing for the defense of

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

. ''YP-345'' along with '' YP-284'', '' YP-290'', and ''YP-350'', were assembled into Task Force (TF) 4 and assigned to protect and patrol the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Hawaiian Islands are a series of islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Politically, they are all p ...

. On 20 May 1942, they set out from

to posts at the several islets and islands that extended from Hawaii out to Midway Atoll: ''YP-345'' went to

Gardner Pinnacles The Gardner Pinnacles ( haw, Pūhāhonu) are two barren rock outcrops surrounded by a reef and located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at . The volcano is northwest of Honolulu and from French Frigate Shoals. The total area of the two ...

while '' YP-284'' to Lisianski Island, '' YP-290'' to

Laysan Island Laysan (; haw, italics=no, Kauō ), located northwest of Honolulu at , is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of , about in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow ...

, and ''YP-350'' to Necker Island. The converted armed yacht ''

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

'' took station at

Pearl and Hermes Reef The Pearl and Hermes Atoll ( haw, Holoikauaua), also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. Th ...

while seaplane tenders '' Thornton'' and '' Ballard'', both converted destroyers, were stationed at French Frigate Shoals. The ships were tasked with patrolling their area of control, serving as a lookout for any enemy activity, and the rescuing of downed airman. The YPs also carried aviation gasoline, food, and water if needed at Midway Island. Nimitz had correctly surmised that the Japanese had used the outer Hawaiian Islands to refuel seaplanes to reconnoiter Pearl Harbor. In fact, the Japanese had on two occasions flown Kawanishi H8K "Emily" seaplanes to French Frigate Shoals where they met awaiting submarines to refuel. By denying the Japanese access, the Japanese were forced to cancel "Operation K" which entailed flying four H8Ks from

Jaluit Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Most ...

and

Wotje Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Geography Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...

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 ...

to the French Frigate Shoals and refueling them from submarines '' I-121'' and '' I-123'' so they could then fly on to Pearl Harbor and ascertain if the American carriers remained in port. If they had been successful, they would have found out that the American carriers had already departed Pearl Harbor. YP-345 returned to Pearl Harbor after the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

. On 31 October 1942, while traveling from French Frigate Shoals to

, YP-345 was lost to unknown causes 80 miles northeast of

. All 17 crew members perished. She was one of the 12 converted tuna clippers lost while on duty during World War II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:YP-345 Fishing ships of the United States Ships of the United States Navy 1939 ships Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy Maritime incidents in October 1942 Yard patrol boats of the United States Navy