 Scurry underway off Seattle, Washington, 25 July 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSkurry |
| Builder | Associated Shipbuilders |
| Laid down | 24 May 1943 |
| Launched | 1 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 29 July 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 22 June 1946 |
| Renamed | USSScurry, 3 August 1944 |
| Reclassified | MSF-304, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 May 1967 |
| Fate | Sunk as a target off theVirginia Capes, 14 August 1967 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Admirable-classminesweeper |
| Displacement |
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| 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: |
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| Operations: | |
| Awards: | 4Battle stars |
USSScurry (AM-304) was a steel-hulledAdmirable-classminesweeper constructed for theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. She was crewed by sailors who were trained inminesweeping, and quickly sent to the Pacific Ocean to clearminefields so thatAllied forces could invadeJapanese-held beaches. For this dangerous work, often under enemy fire, she was awarded four battle stars.
She waslaid down on 24 May 1943 byAssociated Shipbuilders,Seattle andlaunched on 1 October 1943; sponsored by Miss Winette DeLaye. The minesweeper wascommissioned on 29 July 1944. The spelling of her name was changed fromSkurry toScurry on 3 August 1944.
Followingshakedown between 15 August and 19 September 1944,Scurry departed the west coast on 1 October escorting aconvoy toEniwetok. After arriving there on 3 November,Scurry escorted convoys in the vicinity of Eniwetok andManus until returning toPearl Harbor on 13 December. Between 31 December 1944 and 18 January 1945, the ship underwent two six-day periods of minesweeping training offMaui.
She sailed on 22 January to support the landings atIwo Jima. Arriving there three days before the assault she swept the assault and transport areas in preparation for the larger ships. Departing Iwo Jima on 3 March, the ship arrived offOkinawa on 25 March and carried out a week of preparatory sweeps before the landings there. She remained off Okinawa until 8 July, sweepingmines and maintainingantisubmarine patrols around the transports. The minesweeper underwent overhaul atLeyte,Philippines, from 13 July to 17 August and, after escorting aconvoy to Okinawa, sailed from there on 30 August to clear minefields off Japan.
Scurry swept mines in theYellow Sea between 1 and 7 September, and then helped to sweep the approaches toSasebo andNagasaki, Japan. She was one of the last American ships to enter these ports after the war. Between 17 and 26 September, she acted as pilot vessel at Nagasaki for transports repatriating Alliedprisoners of war. She then returned to mine clearance operations, sweeping in theKorea Strait until sailing from Sasebo for the United States on 10 December.
The minesweeper arrived atOrange, Texas, on 24 April 1946, and wasdecommissioned and placed in reserve there on 29 June 1946.
Scurry was reclassified MSF-304 on 7 February 1955. She was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 May 1967 and converted into a salvage training hulk for use by the U.S. Navy atNorfolk, Virginia. Used as a test targetScurry was sunk off theVirginia Capes on 14 August 1967.
Scurry received 4battle stars for her World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1967 | |
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| Other incidents |
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