| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSkill |
| Builder | American Ship Building Company,Cleveland, Ohio |
| Laid down | 28 November 1941 |
| Launched | 22 June 1942 |
| Commissioned | 17 November 1942 |
| Stricken | 11 October 1943 |
| Honors & awards | 1battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Sunk by torpedo off the Italian coast, 25 September 1943. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Auk-classminesweeper |
| Displacement | 890 long tons (904 t) |
| Length | 221 ft 3 in (67.44 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Speed | 18knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 105 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSSkill (AM-115) was anAuk-classminesweeper acquired by theUnited States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Skill was the first of two ships to bear that name. She was laid down on 28 November 1941 byAmerican Ship Building Company ofCleveland, Ohio; launched on 22 June 1942; and placed in service on 17 November 1942.
After a briefshakedown cruise,Skill was ordered to theMediterranean Sea where she swept mines and performed other mine-warfare countermeasures along theNorth African coast before the invasion there. After the initialinvasion at Salerno,Italy, she was assigned patrol andconvoy duty in that area. She returned to the area from escort duty on 25 September 1943 and was assigned a patrol station.
At 1140, not long after she had taken station, her forward magazine exploded. This was probably due to a submarine'storpedo because a survivor, whose station was on the bridge, later reported having seen a wake of undetermined origin paralleling the ship at a distance of about 150 yards.
Skill was blown in half and the forward section capsized. The after half caught fire, and the flames moved aft until that section exploded and sank at about 1200. Ten minutes later, the capsized bow slipped beneath the waves. Of her 103 officers and men, none of the officers and only 31 of the men survived. Her name was struck from theNavy list on 11 October 1943.
Skill was mistaken for an Allieddestroyer and was sunk byU-593, commanded byKptlt.Gerd Kelbling.U-593 had been laid down in 1940 inHamburg, Germany and was successful in sinking Allied ships. Eventually, in theMediterranean Sea, Allied warships caught up with it and it was sunk byUSS Wainwright (DD-419) andHMS Calpe. Unlike theSkill, with its great loss of life, all crew members ofU-593 survived its sinking, and were taken captive by Allied forces.
Skill was awarded onebattle star forWorld War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
40°20′N14°35′E / 40.333°N 14.583°E /40.333; 14.583
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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