USS Speed (AM-116)
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USS ''Speed'' (AM-116) was an acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. ''Speed'' was laid down at
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, on 17 November 1941 by the
American Ship Building Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed ...
, launched on 18 April 1942, and commissioned on 15 October 1942.


World War II Mediterranean operations

Departing Cleveland, Ohio on 15 November, ''Speed'' proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts, where she arrived on 8 December. During the next three months, she conducted
shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...
and training along the Atlantic Coast from Casco Bay, Maine, to
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 ...
, before departing
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
on 19 March 1943 for the Mediterranean. As escort for an eastbound convoy, she sailed via Bermuda and arrived at Tunis, Tunisia, on 13 April. Assigned to Mine Division 17, ''Speed'' conducted coastal patrols off the coast of Algeria during the next two months. On 5 July, she departed
Mers El Kébir Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the Mediterranean Sea, near Oran in Oran Province, northwest Algeria. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in t ...
, Algeria, and joined Vice Admiral
H. Kent Hewitt Henry Kent Hewitt (February 11, 1887 – September 15, 1972) was the United States Navy commander of amphibious operations in north Africa and southern Europe through World War II. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and graduated from the Unit ...
's Western Naval Task Force for the invasion of Sicily. Steaming with ships of Task Force 85, she closed the Sicilian coast off
Scoglitti Scoglitti ( scn, Scugghitti) is a fishing village and hamlet () of Vittoria, a municipality in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. In 2011 it had a population of 4,175. History Scoglitti found a niche in history after being selected by the All ...
on 10 July and served as a control ship during amphibious assaults. Following the invasion, ''Speed'' swept waters along the southern and western coasts of Sicily. After sweeping off
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, she escorted supply convoys between Tunisia and Sicily from 10 to 23 August. On 25 August, she sailed for Algeria and arrived at
Oran 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 ...
on the 29th to prepare for the invasion of Italy.


Invasion of Italy operations

As a unit of Rear Admiral J. L. Hall's Southern Attack Force, ''Speed'' departed Oran on 5 September and arrived off the
Gulf of Salerno The Gulf of Salerno (Italian: ''Golfo di Salerno'') is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the Costiera Amalfitana, which ends at Punta di Campanella an ...
late on 8 September. She swept channels during the landings the next day and operated in the Gulf of Salerno on mine and antisubmarine patrols until 26 September. While on patrol on the 25th, she rescued survivors of after that minesweeper had been fatally hit by an enemy torpedo. ''Speed'' departed
Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
on 26 September and escorted a convoy of merchant ships to
Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...
, Tunisia. Interspersed with minesweeping and ASW patrols, she performed escort duties during the next nine months as she screened supply and reinforcement convoys from North Africa to Sicily and Italy. While steaming in convoy from Oran to Bizerte on 20 April 1944, she helped repulse a determined German air attack which sank three ships, including . After returning to Naples on 20 June, ''Speed'' operated in the Gulf of Salerno until 7 August preparing for the invasion of southern France. Assigned to Task Force 87, she departed Salerno on 12 August and escorted an LCI convoy to the assault area off
Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...
and St. Raphael. She closed the French coast early on 15 August and served as a glide bomb "jam ship" and in the ASW screen during amphibious landings. She operated along the French coast during the next few weeks, sweeping channels and clearing harbors from Fréjus to Toulon.


Stateside overhaul

After two escort runs to North Africa, she departed Oran for the United States on 24 November and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 11 December to begin a two-month overhaul.


Pacific Ocean operations

''Speed'' departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 15 March 1945 for mine-sweeping duty in the western Pacific. Steaming via the Panama Canal and San Diego, California, she reached Pearl Harbor on 31 May. Between 11 June and 12 July, she steamed to Okinawa via the Marshall Islands and Marianas Islands. Assigned to Mine Squadron Six, she swept the waters of the
Ryūkyūs The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonag ...
during the closing weeks of World War II.


Post-World War II operations

After the end of hostilities, she departed Okinawa on 1 September for sweeping operations along the coast of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Arriving at Kagoshima,
Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
, on 3 September, she swept Kagoshima Wan and Van Diemen Strait before returning to Okinawa on 13 September. During the remainder of 1945, ''Speed'' continued minesweeping operations in support of the Allied occupation of Japan. Her duties carried her to
Bungo Suido The is a strait separating the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. It connects the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea on the western end of Shikoku. The narrowest part of this channel is the Hōyo Strait. In the English-speaking world, t ...
and the
Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...
, as well as to the
East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
and waters off
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 ...
.


Decommissioning

She returned to the United States early in 1946, was decommissioned on 7 June, and entered 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 ...
at San Diego, California. She was reclassified MSF-116 on 7 February 1955. On 17 November 1967, ''Speed'' was transferred to the Republic of Korea, and she served the South Korean Navy as ''Sunchon'' (PCE-1002).


Awards

''Speed'' received seven battle stars for World War II service.


References


External links

*
Uboat.net - USS ''Speed'' (AM 116)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Speed (AM-112) Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Cleveland 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States