USS ''Albatross'' (AM-71) was an of the United States Navy during World War II. Originally laid down on 25 October 1930 as the steel-hulled fishing trawler MV ''Illinois'' by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, she was launched on 19 March 1931 and delivered on 30 March 1931 to the Booth Fisheries Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Acquired by the U.S. Navy on 9 August 1940 and renamed ''Albatross'' on 14 August 1940, conversion to a minesweeper began on 6 September 1940 by the General Ship and Engine Works, East Boston, Massachusetts. The ship was commissioned as USS ''Albatross'' (AM-71) on 8 November 1940 at the Boston Navy Yard. Conversion was completed on 8 November 1941. She was reclassified as an

Unclassified Miscellaneous Auxiliary The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

, IX-171, 1 June 1944.

Service history

World War II North Atlantic operations

Following her conversion for naval service as a minesweeper ''Albatross'' was assigned to duty in the

5th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

. In early May 1941, she sailed to Bermuda, arriving at Port Royal Bay on 9 May. The ship operated in Bermudan waters until 15 August, when she got underway for

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. After a period of upkeep, she returned to her minesweeping activities in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area. On 12 December, she set sail for

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, arriving at

Argentia, Newfoundland Argentia ( ) is a Canadian commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula and defined by a triangular shaped headland which re ...

, on 23 December 1941.

Iceland Area operations

''Albatross'' left that port on 4 January 1942 in company with to join a British convoy bound for Iceland. En route to the rendezvous, the ships encountered heavy weather which forced them to change their course; and they reached

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Northern Ireland, on 16 January. Although ''Albatross'' had sustained minor damage, she was sent to Iceland via northern Scotland,

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 ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

, and Faroe Islands. The minesweeper finally returned to the United States in July, when she arrived at the Boston Navy Yard. She left Boston as an escort for a convoy on 1 October and reached Greenland on 21 October. ''Albatross'' spent the remainder of the year in waters around Greenland.

Albatross strikes an iceberg

USS ''Albatross'' struck an

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

on 7 January 1943, causing minor damage. Then an ice pack formed astern of the ship, blocking the ship's path until shifting winds cleared the ice, enabling her to leave Greenland on 12 January. She touched at

on 3 February and then proceeded on to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving on the 8th. ''Albatross'' reached

, on the 11th. After a month's overhaul, she got underway for Canada.

Collision with another ship

On 11 April, while operating out of Nova Scotia, ''Albatross'' was struck by another ship and suffered damage which caused her to return to Boston, Massachusetts, for a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

period. When this was completed, the minesweeper returned to Greenland to resume her convoy duties.

Stranded in Greenland

''Albatross'' spent the first six months of 1944 moored to the pier at Narsarssuak, Greenland, awaiting repairs to her main engine which were held up for lack of

spare part A spare part, spare, service part, repair part, or replacement part, is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for the repair or refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logistic ...

s. While she was thus immobilized, she provided repairs and services to other ships. On 1 June, ''Albatross'' was redesignated IX-171. When her engine was finally back in working order, she headed home and arrived at Boston, Massachusetts, on 14 July. Then the minesweeper reported to the

1st Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

for inactivation.

End-of-War decommissioning

Stripped of her military equipment, she was decommissioned on 11 September, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 23 September 1944. ''Albatross'' was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 15 November 1944 for disposal. She then resumed the name MV ''Illinois'', but no record of her subsequent career has been found.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Albatross (IX 171) - ex-AM-71
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albatross (AM-71) Ships built in Bath, Maine 1931 ships Maritime incidents in January 1943 Maritime incidents in April 1943 Ship collisions with icebergs Albatross-class minesweepers (1940) World War II minesweepers of the United States