USS ''Bateleur'' (AMc-37) was an ''Accentor''-class coastal

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 ...

in 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 ...

. She was named after the

bateleur The bateleur (; ''Terathopius ecaudatus'') is a medium-sized eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is often considered a relative of the snake eagles and, like them, it is classified within the subfamily Circaetinae.Kemp, A. C., G. M. Kirwan, ...

, a short-tailed eagle common to eastern Africa. ''Bateleur'' was laid down on 21 January 1941 at Ipswich, Massachusetts, by W. A. Robinson, Inc.; launched on 12 May 1941; sponsored by Mrs. Warren S. Little; fitted out for naval service by the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

; and placed in service there on 18 August 1941.

World War II East Coast operations

The

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 ...

departed Boston, Massachusetts on 30 August and shaped a course for the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. She arrived at Solomons Island, Maryland in Calvert County, Maryland, where the

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...

empties into

, on 2 September. After a week of

degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to red ...

experiments at Solomons Island, the ship moved south to

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Co ...

, on 10 September and remained there until the beginning of October when she received orders to return to Boston. ''Bateleur'' reentered Boston on 4 October and began almost four years of service with 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 ...

Inshore Patrol. Operating primarily from the

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 ...

, section base, she patrolled the shoreline of the

until near the end 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 ...

Deactivation

Late in July 1945, the coastal minesweeper received orders to proceed to Charleston, South Carolina, for inactivation and disposal. She arrived at the Naval Frontier Base, Charleston, on 8 August and was placed out of service there on 15 November 1945. She was placed in the Charleston Group,

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, but 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 28 November 1945. On 20 August 1947, 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 ...

sold her to the Whaling City Dredge & Dock Corporation of

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London i ...

References

External links

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

* ttp://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-dm.html Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945*
W. A. Robinson, Inc., Ipswich, Maine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bateleur Accentor-class minesweepers Ships built in Boston 1941 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States