USS ''Barbet'' (AMc-38) was an ''Accentor''-class

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 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 o ...

for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. The first ship to be named ''Barbet'' by the Navy, ''AMc-38'' was laid down on 31 January 1941 at Ipswich, Massachusetts, by W. A. Robinson, Inc.; launched on 24 July 1941; sponsored by Mrs. E. Robinson; and commissioned on 29 September 1941.

World War II service

''Barbet'' departed

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, on 4 October and arrived at the Naval Mine Warfare School,

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, on the 6th. From there, she moved to the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, for additional outfitting. On 4 December, the minesweeper was assigned to

Mine Division MinDiv was a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "Minesweeper Division." The Commander of a minesweeper division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINDIV (followed by a number), such as COMMINDIV EIGHT. References See ...

(MinDiv) 27 and was based at the Section Base,

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War patrols

Following 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 R ...

on 7 December, she began daily patrols along the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

coast. That assignment lasted until mid February 1942. On the 16th, she received word that she would be transferred to the Panama Canal Zone. First, however, Barbet had to undergo an availability at the Marine Basin Co.,

Gravesend, New York Gravesend is a neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the southwestern edge of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is bounded by the Belt Parkway to the south, Bay Parkway to the west, ...

, to correct damage incurred in a collision with an Eagle boat at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. The repairs were completed midway through March, and the coastal minesweeper departed Gravesend bound for the Canal Zone.

Caribbean operations

After stops at Charleston, South Carolina;

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; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she arrived in

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on th ...

on 9 April 1942 and began operations with the Inshore Patrol,

15th 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 Comman ...

Pacific Ocean operations

On 5 May, she transited the canal and joined the Pacific Section, Inshore Patrol. She conducted two ship minesweeping operations and patrolled the sea channels. On 16 May 1942, ''Barbet'' was decommissioned and placed "in service."

"In service" activity

Her duties, however, remained the same and continued throughout the remainder of

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 ...

. Following the end of the war, ''Barbet'' was ordered to Charleston for disposal by the Commandant,

6th 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 Comman ...

. The coastal minesweeper arrived in Charleston on 22 October 1945.

Post-war deactivation

She was placed out of service at Charleston on 8 February 1946, 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 26 February 1946. She was sold by the

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Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on 13 August 1947.

References

External links

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbet (AMc-38) Accentor-class minesweepers World War II minesweepers of the United States Ships built in Ipswich, Massachusetts 1941 ships