USS Sheldrake (AM-62)
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USS ''Sheldrake'' (AM-62/AGS-19) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was named after the
sheldrake duck The shelducks, most species of which are found in the genus ''Tadorna'' (except for the Radjah shelduck, which is now found in its own monotypic genus ''Radjah''), are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biolo ...
. The ship earned four battle stars during World War II. She was converted to a
survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...
and re-designated AGS-19 in 1952 and remained in commission until 1968. She was sold for scrap in 1971.


Career

''Sheldrake'' (AM-62) was laid down on 24 June 1941 by the
General Engineering & Dry Dock Company General Engineering & Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding and ship repair company in Alameda, California that was active from the 1920s through the 1940s. The company built ships for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the United States Coast Gua ...
of Alameda, California; launched on 12 February 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Helen Nicolini; and commissioned on 14 October 1942. After fitting out at Alameda, California, and making a short
shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise s ...
in the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
area, ''Sheldrake'' departed to join a convoy bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She arrived there on the first anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack and remained for three weeks. On 28 December, she got underway for
Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
Island,
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, where she stopped from 7 to 12 January 1943, before heading on to the Allied base at Nouméa,
New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
. After a trip to Efate in the New Hebrides and back, from 17 to 27 January 1943, she departed Nouméa to join the escort of the first of many convoys, this one bound for Espiritu Santo. For the next 15 months, the auxiliary minesweeper criss-crossed the South Pacific shepherding convoys between bases in the New Hebrides, Solomon Islands. New Caledonia; also making-occasional runs to New Zealand, Samoa, and Fiji. ''Sheldrake'' also participated intermittently in patrols off
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
. From 2 Aug 1943 to 5 Nov 1943 Lt. Robert G. Nichols,
USN 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 of ...
, commanded the ''Sheldrake'' throughout the Pacific Area of Operation. On 4 May 1944, she departed Espiritu Santo bound for
Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...
in the Solomons. She arrived off' Koli Point, Guadalcanal, two days later, then moved on to Purvis Bay, Florida Island. Her operations were centered in the Solomon Islands for the next month, after which, on 4 June, she departed the vicinity of
Tassafaronga Tassafaronga Point is a point on the north shore of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. The Battle of Tassafaronga, one of several naval engagements fought in the waters north of the island during the World War II Guadalcanal Campaign The Guad ...
bound for Kwajalein and staging for the
Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
invasion. ''Sheldrake'' arrived at Kwajalein on 8 June and departed four days later for the
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
area. She cruised around in the waters near Saipan until 2 July, ready to reinforce the assault force if necessary. On that date, she departed the area for
Eniwetok Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
, where she remained from 13 to 17 July. The auxiliary minesweeper went from Eniwetok to Guam with Task Group 53.2. For the next two months, she stayed in the vicinity of Guam screening and engaging in
hunter-killer Hunter-killer may refer to: Military terminology * Hunter-killer team, a team that separates the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" to two or more individuals * Hunter-killer armored-vehicle team, scout vehicles and tanks operating in concert as "hun ...
antisubmarine operations, and putting in at
Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...
periodically for logistics. On 19 September. ''Sheldrake'' cleared the Marianas again on the first leg of a voyage to San Francisco, California. After stops at Eniwetok, 24 to 25 September, and at Pearl Harbor, 5 to 7 October, she entered San Francisco, California on 14 October. She shifted to the yards of the General Engineering and Dry Dock Co. on the next day and commenced a 14-week overhaul. On 22 January 1945, ''Sheldrake'' departed San Francisco, California. After stops at San Pedro, California and San Diego, she got underway for Pearl Harbor on 1 February. She laid over at Pearl Harbor from 9 to 19 February and entered Eniwetok lagoon on the 27th. She stood but of the lagoon on the 28th to rejoin the fleet. However, a damaged port shaft in her engine caused her to proceed independently to Ulithi Atoll for repairs. She entered Ulithi Atoll on 6 March and went into
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
on the 14th. ''Sheldrake'' undocked two days later, but returned to drydock on the 21st. On 23 March, she undocked again and, on the 24th, got underway to escort survey ship, to Okinawa. Upon arrival at Okinawa, five days later, she and ''Bowditch'' separated and ''Sheldrake'' joined Sweep Unit 7. The sweep unit headed for Nago Wan, Okinawa, and arrived the next day. ''Sheldrake'' was detached soon thereafter to become a unit of Sweep Unit 6. From 1 to 25 April, she did screening duty with Sweep Unit 6. On the 16th, an enemy Val attempted to crash ''Sheldrake'', but her gunners cut his suicide dive short 20 yards astern of ''Sheldrake''. On 25 April, she escorted a convoy of LST's to Saipan, arriving on 1 May. From Saipan, she moved to Guam. She arrived on 5 May and, for the next two weeks, remained in that area, conducting sweep exercises, screening operations, and docking for six days, from 11 to 17 May. On 23 June, she exited Apra Harbor and arrived at Nakagasuku Wan ( Buckner Bay), Okinawa, late on 1 July. For the next two months, she swept mines in the vicinity of Okinawa, putting in periodically at Buckner Bay. She exited Buckner Bay on 5 September to join minesweeping operations off the Chinese coast in the area of the Yangtze River. She arrived there on the 7th and cleared mines until 23 September, when she moored at Shanghai. In October, she swept mines from Chefoo Harbor and in the area of Jinsen, Korea. She returned to Shanghai on 16 October, swept mines there until 6 November, then headed for Takao,
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
. ''Sheldrake's''
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
directed minesweeping operations out of Takao until 21 December, and she reentered Shanghai on the 22d. On 3 January 1946, ''Sheldrake'' weighed anchor to return to the United States. On her way back, she stopped at Wakayama, Japan; Saipan; Eniwetok; and Pearl Harbor, before entering San Diego, California, on 1 March. Decommissioned on 31 May 1946, ''Sheldrake'' joined the
Pacific 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 ...
, berthed at San Diego, California. ''Sheldrake'' earned four battle stars for World War II.


Survey ship

''Sheldrake'' recommissioned at San Diego, California, on 14 April 1952 and sailed to New York City for conversion to an oceanographic survey ship with hull symbol AGS-19. Over the next 16 years, she plied the waters of the western Atlantic and the Caribbean, from
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
to Cuba, conducting over 25 separate surveys. On three occasions, ''Sheldrake'' left her normal area of operations to conduct surveys. Two of these cruises were to the Mediterranean, February to April 1958 and November 1965 to March 1966. The third departure from normal Atlantic Ocean operations came in July 1966 when she changed homeports, from New York City to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Departing
Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...
, on 7 July, she laid over at
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 ...
, until 12 July; then got underway with for the Panama Canal. They transited the canal on the 19th, visited Mazatlán, Mexico, on the 29th, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 12 August. After almost three months in Hawaii, ''Sheldrake'' deployed to the western Pacific on 9 November. For almost a year and one-half, she, and ''Towhee'' surveyed in the western Pacific, in the Philippines, and along the Southeast Asian coast. On 9 April, she returned to Pearl Harbor. She remained in Hawaii until struck from the Navy List on 30 June 1968 and decommissioned on 1 August. She was turned over to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor until sold to Flynn-Learner of Honolulu on 2 November 1971 for scrapping.


References


External links

*
Ships of the US Navy, 1940-1945 AM-62 USS ''Sheldrake''



Preliminary Bottom Loss Data from Explosive Sound Sources in Area 'A'


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldrake (AM-62) Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Alameda, California 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Survey ships of the United States Navy