USS ''Bobolink'' (AM-20/AT-131/ATO-131) was a 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 dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. ''Bobolink'' was launched on 15 June 1918 by Baltimore Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Elsie Jean Willis; and commissioned 28 January 1919, with Lieutenant Frank Bruce in command.

World War I minefield clearance

''Bobolink'' departed Norfolk, Virginia in April 1919 to join Division 2,

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

Minesweeping Detachment, at

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

, Orkney Islands. While sweeping in the

on 14 May 1919, a mine exploded close by, causing considerable damage to the stern and killin
Bruce, Frank M., LT
was named after Lt. Bruce. Her repairs at the Devonport Dockyard, England, took six months. Ophir NH-154

In January 1920 she returned to Norfolk. En route she came to the aid of USS off

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. ''Bobolink'' towed ''Ophir'' until a storm broke the tow rope about off Cape Henry.

Postwar operations

Between 1920 and 1931, ''Bobolink'' served with the Fleet Base Force, Scouting Fleet, on the East Coast of the United States and took part in fleet problems, concentrations, and joint

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

-Navy maneuvers. On 3 March 1932, she arrived on the

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and was thereafter based at San Diego. She operated along the western seaboard between San Francisco and San Quentin Bay, Mexico, with the Fleet Train and various destroyer divisions. In 1935, she took part in the annual exercises and fleet problems held off Hawaii. Between January and March 1939, she participated in fleet problems in the Caribbean and then returned to San Diego, arriving there on 13 May 1939.

World War II operations

In September 1940, ''Bobolink'' joined the Train, Base Force, United States Fleet, at

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 ...

. She remained there until September 1942. ''Bobolink'' was present during the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

on 7 December 1941, laying in dock next to six destroyers near the district HQ. Following the attack, she served as a salvage vessel and minesweeper. Between 20 May and 2 July 1942, she was converted to an ocean-going tug (redesignated AT-131 on 1 June 1942). Remaining at Pearl Harbor until September 1942, ''Bobolink'' then steamed to the South Pacific and operated out off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands;

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; and Noumea, New Caledonia, as a tug until February 1944. In particular, she helped rescue survivors and assisted several crippled U.S.

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in the aftermath of the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

. She arrived at

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, 4 March 1944 for overhaul and returned to Pearl Harbor on 29 June 1944. ''Bobolink'' was reclassified ATO-131 on 15 May 1944.

Decommissioning

She served in Hawaiian waters until the fall of 1945, and then returned to

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...

, where she was decommissioned 22 February 1946. She was sold through 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 ...

5 October 1946. ''Bobolink'' received 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 operations 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 opposing ...

References

External links

*
hazegray.org: USS ''Bobolink''
*First-hand account of ''Bobolinks North Sea minesweeping operations available in th
Robert R. Longwell Papers, 1911-1920 (bulk 1917-1920), MS 533
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Bobolink Ships built in Baltimore Lapwing-class minesweepers 1918 ships Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor World War II auxiliary ships of the United States World War I minesweepers of the United States Lapwing-class minesweepers converted to tugs