USS ''Osprey'' (AM–56), 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 ...

, laid down on 28 June 1939 at the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

, Virginia; launched on 24 August 1940; sponsored by Ms. Margaret Kays; and commissioned on 16 December 1940.

Service career

The United States' entrance into

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 opposin ...

extended ''Osprey''s coastal patrol and escort duties first to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

area, and by 8 November to North Africa. On "D-Day" of "

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

" she helped direct and protect the waves of landing craft moving shoreward at

Port Lyautey Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou river, has a population in 201 ...

, Morocco.

Anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrol off

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

preceded her return to another year of coastal escort assignments out of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. On 3 April 1944, the minesweeper departed for England to take part in "

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

". With other units of Minesweeper Squadron 7 (MinRon 7), she had successfully conducted sweeping operations off Tor Bay, England. "At about 1700 on 5 June, minesweeper USS Osprey hit a mine that blew a large hole in the forward engine room. Fires broke out and at 1815 the ship had to be abandoned. Osprey sank soon after with the loss of six men." These were the first casualties of the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

invasion. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 August. The wreck was first dived and identified by a team including nautical archaeologist

Innes McCartney Innes McCartney (born 1964) is a British nautical archaeologist and historian. He is a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University in the UK. Career McCartney is a nautical archaeologist specializing in the interaction of shipwreck archaeology ...

in 1997. It was found to be lying on its side. In 2019, the Osprey's ships bell was turned in to British authorities after pictures of it appeared on line.

Awards

''Osprey'' received two battle stars for

service.

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-49562897 *

External links

*
USN Ships : USS ''Osprey'' (AM-56)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osprey Raven-class minesweepers 1940 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in June 1944 Ships sunk by mines Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia