USS ''Broadbill'' (AM-58), was an of 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 ...

, named after the broadbill, a hunters' nickname for the

greater scaup The greater scaup (''Aythya marila''), just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup. It spends the summer months breeding in Alaska, northern Canad ...

, a diving duck common in the winter along the Atlantic coast. ''Broadbill'' was launched on 21 May 1942 at the

Defoe Shipbuilding Company The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is ...

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metrop ...

, sponsored by Mrs. A. Loring Swasey, wife of Captain Swasey. She was commissioned on 13 October 1942.

Service history

1942–1946

After commissioning, ''Broadbill'' reported at

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 to the Commander, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet. Until April 1944, she escorted

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 ...

s between east coast and

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

coast ports, and made two voyages to the Caribbean. On 11 April 1944, she got underway for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where she conducted numerous practice sweeps in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. On 5 June 1944 ''Broadbill'', as a unit of Mine Squadron 7, in company with 10 other

minesweepers 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 ...

, cleared the approach channel to

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

for

fire support Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and ope ...

ships, and on 6 June, commenced sweeping the actual support area. On 25 June, she helped clear fire support areas off Cherbourg. Operations were continued off England and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

until August. She then proceeded to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, via

Oran, Algeria Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, and conducted sweeping operations in the

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient ...

Strait of Bonifacio The Strait of Bonifacio (french: Bouches de Bonifacio; it, Bocche di Bonifacio; co, Bucchi di Bunifaziu; sdn, Bocchi di Bunifaciu; sc, Buccas de Bonifatziu; lij, Bocche de Bunifazziu; lat, Fretum Gallicum, Fretum Taphros) is the strait betwe ...

, and around

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

and Corsica. Completing this assignment, Mine Squadron 7 arrived at Cavalaire Bay in southern France on 23 August 1944 to clear French

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

s and approaches during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. On 28 May 1945, ''Broadbill'', in company with Mine Division 21, departed for Norfolk, Virginia, where she underwent repairs until 30 August 1945. On 17 September 1945, in company with Service Squadron 5, ''Broadbill ''got underway for

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

. She was subsequently ordered to Astoria, Oregon, arriving on 7 December for pre-inactivation

overhaul Overhaul may refer to: *The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul **Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) **Time between overhaul * Overhaul (firefighting), the process of searching for hidden fire extensio ...

. ''Broadbill'' went out of commission in reserve at San Diego on 3 June 1946.

1952–1954

Recommissioned on 19 March 1952, ''Broadbill'' operated off the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

coast until 27 June 1952. She then sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, arriving there on 15 July. During the remainder of 1952, she operated out of Charleston and conducted one Caribbean training cruise. In January 1953, she proceeded to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

for a cruise with the 6th Fleet, returning to Charleston on 21 May 1953. She conducted routine operations off the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast until August, when she reported for inactivation overhaul. ''Broadbill'' was placed out of commission in reserve on 25 January 1954, berthed at

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Hous ...

. She was reclassified MSF-58 on 7 February 1955. ''Broadbill'' was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1972, and disposed of by Navy sale on 1 December 1973.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadbill (AM-58) Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Bay City, Michigan 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States