USS Tanager (AM-385)
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USS ''Tanager'' (AM-385) 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. ''Tanager'' was named after the tanager, any of the numerous American, passerine birds. The brightly colored males are unmusical and inhabit woodlands. ''Tanager'', a minesweeper and the second United States Navy warship with that name, was laid down at
Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...
, on 29 March 1944 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 9 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Slingluff; and commissioned on 28 July 1945.


Operations with the 2nd Fleet

''Tanager'' steamed via the St. Lawrence River to Boston, Massachusetts, in late July and early August. In October, she moved south to the Naval Amphibious Base at Little Creek, Virginia, for
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, ...
training and mine-sweeping exercises in the Chesapeake Bay area. For almost six years, ''Tanager'' operated with the
U.S. 2nd Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...
along the eastern seaboard and in 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. She conducted minesweeping exercises and supported the training efforts of the Mine Warfare School at Yorktown, Virginia. On three occasions — once each in 1948, 1950, and 1951 — she did tours of duty with the Naval Mine Countermeasures Station, located at Panama City, Florida.


Operations with the 6th Fleet

On 2 September 1951, she departed
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, for the Mediterranean Sea. While she was deployed with the
U.S. 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
, she conducted more minesweeping exercises and visited many of the famous ports in the area. Among those were Mers-el-Kebir,
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
, Naples, Monaco, Cannes,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, Malta, and Genoa.


Second Mediterranean tour of duty

In February 1952, ''Tanager'' returned to Charleston and resumed operations with the
2nd Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view ...
. After repairs at Charleston and a voyage 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 ...
, and back, the minesweeper began her second Mediterranean deployment in April 1953. During that cruise, she added some new ports-of-call to her itinerary, notably Tangier,
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 ...
, Marseille,
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Thessaloniki and Seville. She also participated in a number of minesweeping exercises with other units of the 6th Fleet. ''Tanager'' re-entered Charleston on 26 October 1953.


First decommissioning

Following minesweeping exercises along the southeastern coast of the United States and in 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 ...
, she entered the yard at Savannah Machine & Foundry Co. on 29 June 1954 for repairs. On 23 September, the minesweeper departed Savannah, Georgia, and headed for
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...
. She arrived on the 28th and entered the
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, ...
the same day. She was refloated on 8 October and towed to the naval station at Orange, Texas. Two months later, on 10 December 1954, ''Tanager'' was decommissioned and berthed there with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 7 February 1955, the minesweeper was redesignated MSF-385.


Transfer to the U.S. Coast Guard

On 4 October 1963, ''Tanager'' was transferred to the
U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
for use as a training cutter. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1963, and she was commissioned in the Coast Guard as ''Tanager'' (WTR-885) on 16 July 1964.


Decommissioning, sale and demise

She was decommissioned once more on 1 February 1972; and, on 15 November, she was sold to Mr. William A. Hardesty of Seattle, Washington. She served several decades more as the yacht Eagle. An effort to convert it into a latter day Calypso-style research ship failed and she ended her days, like the recently scrapped S S Catalina, in Ensenada, Mexico.


Film productions

The ''Tanager'' was used in the filming of the motion pictures The Usual Suspects and
Hitman's Run ''Hitman's Run'' is a 1999 film directed by Mark L. Lester. Plot A former mob hitman, now in witness protection, is forced to come out of retirement when his family is threatened by his cohorts. He teams up with a skateboarding kid, who has a com ...
in 2001, as well as the television show
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanager (AM-385) Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Lorain, Ohio 1944 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Ships of the United States Coast Guard Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard