 Wreck of theMahi in 2008 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSScrimmage |
| Builder | Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | 22 February 1943 |
| Launched | 16 May 1943 |
| Commissioned | 4 April 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 22 June 1946 |
| Reclassified | MSF-297, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 April 1960 |
| Fate | Sold into merchant service. Sunk as artificial reef 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Admirable-classminesweeper |
| Displacement | 650 tons |
| Length | 184 ft 6 in (56.24 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 14.8 knots (27.4 km/h) |
| Complement | 104 |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of |
|
| Operations | Philippines campaign (1944–45) |
| Awards | 6Battle stars |
USSScrimmage (AM-297) was anAdmirable-class minesweeper built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters. She served in thePacific Ocean and, because of her valiant efforts in combat, her crew returned home with sixbattle stars.
Scrimmage was laid down on 22 February 1943 byWinslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company,Seattle,Washington, launched on 16 May 1943; and commissioned on 4 April 1944.
AftershakedownScrimmage sailed fromSan Francisco,California, on 11 June 1944 forPearl Harbor. After aconvoy voyage toEnewetak Atoll and back, she helped sweep an old United States minefield in theFrench Frigate Shoals northwest ofOahu between 6 and 15 August. She reported to the7th Fleet atManus on 20 September for theLeyte invasion. On 20 October, she joined her division, Mine Division 34, off the Leyte beaches for a four-day sweep of the main transport channel and then anchored with the transports to provideanti-aircraft support.
Between 27 and 31 October, she helped search for survivors at the scene of theBattle off Samar, where a few Americanescort carriers and their screen had withstood the attack of a superior Japanese force. For the next month, she carried out local patrols and sweeps aroundLeyte, and made aconvoy voyage to Manus and back.
Scrimmage participated, with her divisions in most of the subsequent landings in thePhilippines. She carried out pre-invasion sweeps atOrmoc Bay on 6 December 1944,Mindoro Island on 14 December,Lingayen Gulf on 6 January 1945, andZambales andSubic Bay on 29 and 31 January. For all but theOrmoc assault, she remained on the scene after the initial landings, helping extend the mineswept areas and providingantisubmarine andantiaircraft protection to the transports. Few mines were encountered, butkamikaze resistance was intense, and the ships saw much antiaircraft action.
On 13 February,Scrimmage and her division began pre-invasion sweeps inManila Bay in preparation for the landings atMariveles andCorregidor. While sweeping off Corregidor on the 14th, the minesweepers came within 5,000 yards of the island and were repeatedly straddled by Japanese fire before supporting ships silenced the enemy's guns.Scrimmage continued sweeping in Manila Bay through 19 February, and her division earned aNavy Unit Commendation for the operation.
During the next two and one-half months,Scrimmage carried out various local sweeps in support of fighting in thePhilippines, the most notable being a pre-assault sweep for the landings atLegaspi,Luzon on 1 April, and an 8-day sweep in theSulu Sea offPalawan beginning on 22 April. On 9 May, the ship arrived atMorotai to prepare for operations in theDutch East Indies.
Between 7 and 18 June,Scrimmage supported the landings atBrunei Bay,Borneo. During the operation, the minesweepers came under fire from shore batteries and one ship,USS Salute (AM-294), was sunk by a mine on 8 June. On completion of the operation,Scrimmage returned toSubic Bay for emergencyengine repairs, arriving on 21 June.
The minesweeper left thePhilippines on 6 September and arrived atNagoya, Japan, on 9 October, having weathered three typhoons en route. Between 16 October and 3 December, she swept Japanese minefields in the approaches to theInland Sea and inTsushima Strait. On 9 December she sailed fromSasebo for home.
Arriving atOrange, Texas, on 2 April 1946, she was decommissioned there on 22 June 1946 and placed in reserve. The ship was reclassified MSF-297 on 7 February 1955.
She was struck from theNavy list on 1 April 1960 and sold. She became a British merchantman named MVGiant II and was used as acable ship; sold in March 1968 to theDillingham Corporation and leased to theUniversity of Hawaii as aresearch vessel; renamed MSMahi; sold in 1982 toDacor Scuba Diving to be sunk as anartificial reef; and sunk in the Pacific Ocean approximately one mile offWaianae, Hawai'i, in 90 feet (27 meters) of water. AUnited States flag was raised on the mast ofMahi on 26 May 2008 by retiredUnited States ArmySergeant First Class Shawn McElravy to commemorateMemorial Day; he replaced the flag with a new one on 25 May 2009.
Scrimmage received 6battle stars for her World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1982 | |
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21°26′17″N158°12′22″W / 21.438°N 158.206°W /21.438; -158.206
