USS ''Hawk'' (AM-133) was a 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 ...

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 ...

. Built in 1937 as the steel-hulled

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

MV ''Gale'' by the

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...

Co. of Quincy, Massachusetts, for the General Sea Foods Corp., Boston, Massachusetts. She was acquired by the Navy on 1 January 1942. Conversion to a

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 ...

began on 8 January 1942 at the

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

Co., East Boston, Massachusetts. Renamed ''Hawk'' on 21 January 1942, she completed conversion and was commissioned on 23 May 1942. ''Hawk'' was assigned 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 ...

and was based at the Boston Section Base. She performed general

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

duties near Boston, Massachusetts, and in mid-1943 was assigned to the Northern Ship Lane Patrol. ''Hawk'' was decommissioned on 1 May 1944, struck from the

Navy Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 16 September 1944 and sold. Her fate is unknown.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Hawk (AM 133)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawk (AM-133) Hawk-class minesweepers World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1937 ships