_-_DPLA_-_e7a0602ad1fdd9cd0a7ef266dbc4fccc.jpg) Sandering being launched. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSanderling |
| Laid down | 27 May 1918 |
| Launched | 2 September 1918 |
| Commissioned | 4 December 1918, as Minesweeper No.37 |
| Decommissioned | 2 May 1922 |
| Reclassified | AM-37, 17 July 1920 |
| Stricken | 26 June 1937 |
| Fate | Accidentally sunk, 26 June 1937 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Lapwing-classminesweeper |
| Displacement | 840 long tons (850 t) |
| Length | 187 ft 10 in (57.25 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) |
| Speed | 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement | 78 |
| Armament | 2 ×3 in (76 mm) guns |
USSSanderling (AM-37) was anLapwing-classminesweeper acquired by theUnited States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Sanderling, Minesweeper No. 37, was laid down on 27 May 1918 at the Tebo Yacht Basin by the Todd Shipbuilding Co.,New York City; launched on 2 September 1918; and commissioned on 4 December 1918.
Commissioned after the end ofWorld War I,Sanderling conducted exercises and performed miscellaneous towing operations out ofTompkinsville, New York, through January and February 1919. In March, she proceeded toBoston, Massachusetts, whence she sailed on 14 April for theOrkney Islands to join in the postwar sweeping operations to clear theNorth Sea for peacetime shipping.
On the 29th, the day she arrived atKirkwall, the firstsweeping operation in the American-laid fields began. Experimental in nature, that sweep disposed of only 221 mines and put hardly a dent in the barrage which had been stretched fromOrkney to Norway to stopGermansubmarine traffic from going into theAtlantic Ocean. The six following sweeps used different methods, improved equipment, and more ships — includingSanderling. These modified operations proved to be more productive.
During the third operation, in June,Sanderling andHeron, operating together, located a sunkenU-boat. Thesubmarine, probablyU-127, fouled their sweep gear, almost stopping the two ships, and sent oil to the surface. Sweeping operations were soon resumed and continued more "routinely," if hazardously, forSanderling until the sixth operation in August and early September.Influenza struck the mine force as it worked the eastern end of the barrage. Soon thereafter,Sanderling was damaged by an upper level countermine. Repairs, however, were effected quickly, and the ship was ready to return to sea as the final clearance sweeps were conducted.
By 1 October, theNorth Sea Mine Barrage, originally a concentration of over 70,000 British and American mines, had been swept; andSanderling headed home. Moving south, then west, she returned toTompkinsville, New York on 19 November. On the 25th, theNorth Sea Mine Force was disbanded, andSanderling proceeded toCharleston, South Carolina for an extended overhaul.
Designated AM-37 on 17 July 1920, she departed theSouth Carolina coast on 3 August; moved up toNorfolk, Virginia; and on the 31st sailed forCalifornia. She conducted exercises en route; arrived atSan Diego, California on 28 October; and remained in Californian waters until January 1921. She then proceeded west, arriving on the 21st at her new home port,Pearl Harbor.
Sanderling remained active only until 11 May, when she was placed in reduced commission. A year later, on 2 May 1922, she was decommissioned and berthed with thereserve fleet at Pearl Harbor. On 26 June 1937, while still in reserve, the minesweeper accidentally sank. Her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register, effective on the day of her loss.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
