 USSSentinel (AM-113) under construction | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSentinel |
| Builder | American Ship Building Company,Cleveland, Ohio |
| Laid down | 28 November 1941 |
| Launched | 23 May 1942 |
| Commissioned | 3 November 1942 |
| Stricken | 19 August 1943 |
| Honours & awards | 2battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Sunk in action, 10 July 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 | 101 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSSentinel (AM-113) was anAuk-classminesweeper built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II; she was the third U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. It was laid down on 28 November 1941 by theAmerican Ship Building Company,Cleveland, Ohio; launched on 23 May 1942; and commissioned on 3 November 1942.
Sentinel reported for duty with theAtlantic Fleet on 15 January 1943. The minesweeper experienced her first enemy contact on 20 February while escortingMerak (AF-21) fromBermuda toNorfolk, Virginia when an escorting aircraft dropped a smoke bomb 2,500 yards astern. Picking up suspectedsubmarine wake noise with herecho-ranging equipment,Sentinel attacked on two contacts within a 25-minute period. There was no evidence of damage to the enemy, except for some dark brown or black matter which appeared after the secondstarboarddepth charge exploded.
On 8 March,Sentinel, accompanied bySeer (AM-112), departed Norfolk, Virginia for patrol duty, joined aconvoy on the 17th, and anchored at Norfolk the next day. The two minesweepers got underway again on the 19th, and possibly encountered a submarine the next day. They fired depth charges which produced no results, and proceeded toNew London, Connecticut.Sentinel spent the remainder of the month in training inLong Island Sound and moored at theBrooklyn Navy Yard.
On 5 April,Sentinel resumed patrol duty and escortedLST-360 toBermuda on the 9th, after standing by strandedLST-72 en route as the latter made repairs. The minesweeper departed Bermuda on the 13th to escortconvoy UGL-2 toEurope, arriving atGibraltar Harbor on the 30th.
From 2 to 4 May, the minesweeper escorted the convoy to the Advanced Amphibious Training Base,Ténès,Algeria, where she remained until sailing forOran on the 9th.
Sentinel departed Oran on 12 May foranti-submarine patrol until her return on the 16th. The minesweeper got under way again on the 20th, entered the harbor atPhilippeville on the 24th, and reachedBizerte,Tunisia, on the 25th.
On 30 May,Sentinel stood out of Bizerte as an escort forTask Group 81.1. After conductingsound andradar search ahead of the convoy, the minesweeper reachedGhazaouet,Algeria, on 2 June. Departing the harbor on the 3rd,Sentinel reachedArseu the same day.
Sentinel continued her escort and patrol duty along theNorth African coast until 8 July, when she stood out ofBizerte and set her course for theinvasion of Sicily.
On 10 July,Sentinel was part ofTask Group 86.3 tasked with landing in theLicata area. At 0430, while serving onantisubmarine patrol,Sentinel was attacked by German aircraft. At about 0500, a bomb exploded about 200 feet off herstarboard quarter. Flares inshore of the minesweeper illuminated her for the unobservable enemy aircraft. At approximately 0510, four or five bombs burst nearby. One opened a hole one foot wide and eight feet long in her after engine room. Thedamage control party and the after engine room crew were seriously weakened by death and injury, and the radio room and all interior communications, except one sound-powered telephone circuit, were wrecked.
Between 0510 and 0600, the ship was attacked four times more. She repulsed two attacks without being bombed; but, at 0525, attacking aircraft released bombs despiteSentinel's heavyanti-aircraft fire and observable 20 millimeter hits. This attack put the forward 3-inch gun out of action and killed or wounded half its crew. Bridge personnel and the port side 20 millimeter crew were also hit. All communications were lost, the forward engine room was holed, and the steering engine was knocked out. At 0530, one bomb hit put the forward engine out of commission.Sentinel's crew, however, hit twoMesserschmitt Me 210 bombers and, at about 0545, effectively used the after 3-inch gun and 20 millimeter guns to repulse one last attack.
By 0615, with all power gone, the badly listingSentinel contactedSeer (AM-112), and the "Green" beach-master by portable radio usingdry cells from hand lanterns. This message broughtSC-530,LCI-33, andPC-550 to her assistance at the utmost speed. After the more seriously wounded had been evacuated onLCI-33 andSC-530, it became apparent that the ship would not remain afloat. Her list was about 28° and water was on her main deck when the remainder of her crew boardedPC-550, at no small risk to the submarine chaser which then remained bySentinel until she capsized at 1030 and went under at 1045.
Sentinel was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 19 August 1943.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1943 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
