USS ''Adroit'' (AM-82/PC-1586) was an acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships. ''Adroit'' was laid down on 31 July 1941 at

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 ...

, by the Commercial Iron Works; launched on 21 February 1942; and placed in commission on 28 July 1942.

Pacific Ocean operations

Following her commissioning, the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

moved to San Francisco, for final fitting out and shakedown training. She left the west coast on 23 November and shaped a course for Hawaii. ''Adroit'' reached

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 R ...

on 6 December and spent two weeks undergoing voyage repairs. She set sail on the 21st for

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...

, New Caledonia. Upon her arrival there, the ship began operations with Destroyer Squadron 12 on

antisubmarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrols off Nouméa.

Guadalcanal operations

In mid-April, ''Adroit'' sailed to

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

to undergo repairs. This work was completed in June, and she got underway on the 18th with a convoy for Guadalcanal. On 2 July, the minesweeper headed back to Nouméa and operated there until the 26th, escorting ships entering and leaving the harbor. On the last day of July, ''Adroit'' arrived back at Guadalcanal and assumed station on a patrol screen. Her sound gear broke on 2 August, forcing her to anchor off Lunga Point until repairs could be made. The minesweeper got underway again on the 22nd, headed for New Caledonia, made intermediate stops at Espiritu Santo and

Efate Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanu ...

, and reached

on 10 September. She then resumed harbor escort duties. In mid-October, ''Adroit'' sailed to Guadalcanal to join forces scheduled to invade the

Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...

. The vessel arrived off Bougainville on 26 October and began her prelanding sweeps. The assault began on the 27th and, during November, she escorted three more

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

from Guadalcanal to support the assault on the Treasury Islands. ''Adroit'' began operations from Guadalcanal on 23 November as a "ready ship" on screening and

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

duty and on hunter-killer operations. In this role, she escorted convoys to

and

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

;

, New Caledonia;

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand;

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

Gilbert Islands; and Manus,

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

Reclassified as a submarine chaser

On 1 June 1944, the ship was reclassified as a submarine chaser and redesignated ''PC-158''6 and her name, ''Adroit'', was cancelled. In mid-December, she moved to

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

where she served as a harbor patrol vessel. On 28 March 1945, she left Ulithi and proceeded to Saipan, where she arrived four days later. During the rest of her wartime service, ''PC-1586'' operated on escort duty between Saipan and Iwo Jima. She made three round-trip voyages between these islands before shaping a course for

on 30 July.

End-of-War deactivation

''PC-1586'' reached Hawaiian waters on 15 August and remained in port for approximately two weeks before sailing on to the west coast. She touched at San Francisco, on 15 September and began preparing for deactivation. ''PC-1586'' was decommissioned on 14 December 1945, and her name was 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 autho ...

on 8 January 1946. She was transferred to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

on 18 March 1948 for disposal.

Awards

''Adroit'' earned 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 her

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 opposing ...

service.

References

External links

*
Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940–1945 PC-1586 USS ''Adroit'')

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adroit Adroit-class minesweepers Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States World War II patrol vessels of the United States