| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSentry |
| Builder | Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company,Seattle |
| Laid down | 16 May 1943 |
| Launched | 15 August 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Nanette L. Pratt |
| Commissioned | 30 May 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 19 June 1946 |
| Reclassified | MSF-299, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 February 1962 |
| Fate | Transferred toSouth Vietnam, 21 August 1962 |
| History | |
 Republic of Vietnam Navy | |
| Name | RVNSKy Hoa (HQ-09) |
| Acquired | 21 August 1962 |
| Fate | Captured by North Vietnam, 30 April 1975. To Vietnam People's Navy |
| History | |
 Vietnam People's Navy | |
| Name | HQ-05 |
| Acquired | 21 August 1962 |
| Fate | Captured by North Vietnam, 30 April 1975. To Vietnam People's Navy |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Admirable-class minesweeper |
| 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: |
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| Operations: | |
| Awards: | |
USSSentry (AM-299) was anAdmirable-classminesweeper built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She served in thePacific Ocean and was awarded sixbattle stars, aNavy Unit Commendation, and aPresidential Unit Citation. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve in 1946. In August 1962, the formerSentry was transferred toSouth Vietnam asRVNSKy Hoa (HQ-09) in theRepublic of Vietnam Navy. Her fate after 1962 is unreported insecondary sources.
Sentry was laid down on 16 May 1943 by theWinslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Co.,Seattle, Washington; launched on 15 August 1943 sponsored by Miss Nanette L. Pratt, and commissioned on 30 May 1944. Aftershakedown,Sentry sailed fromSan Francisco, California, on 28 August 1944 and joined theU.S. 7th Fleet atManus on 6 October for theLeyte invasion. She arrived off the Leyte beaches on 17 October and carried out a three-day pre-invasion sweep. She continued sweeping during and after the initial landings on 20 October until joining the transports on 24 October to provideantiaircraft support.
Sentry remained inLeyte Gulf for the next six weeks then participated in most of the subsequent landings in thePhilippines. With her division, Mine Division 34 she carried out pre-invasion sweeps atOrmoc Bay on 6 December 1944,Mindoro Island on 14 DecemberLingayen Gulf on 6 January 1945, andZambales andSubic Bay on 29–31 January. For all but theOrmoc landings, she remained on the scene after the initial troop landings, helping extend the mineswept areas and providingantisubmarine and antiaircraft protection to the transports. Many mines were encountered, andkamikaze resistance was intense, and the ships saw much antiaircraft action.
On 13 February,Sentry 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.Sentry 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,Sentry carried out various local sweeps in support of mop-up operations 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 theNetherlands East Indies.
Between 7 and 18 June,Sentry supported the landings atBrunei Bay,Borneo; and, between 22 June and 15 July, she helped clear the way for the assault atBalikpapan. During both operations, the minesweepers came under fire from shore batteries; and one ship,USS Salute (AM-294), was sunk by a mine on 8 June.Sentry's task unit received aPresidential Unit Citation for its service off Borneo between 15 June and 1 July 1945.
After overhaul atSubic Bay,Sentry departed thePhilippines on 8 September and arrived atSasebo Japan, on 20 October, having accepted the surrender of the Japanese army garrison ofShan Zaki in theRyukyus while en route. In the following weeks, she swept Japanese minefields in the Ryukyus, theTsushima Strait, and theVan Diemen Strait. She sailed from Sasebo on 9 December for the United States. Arriving atOrange, Texas, on 2 April 1946, she was decommissioned there on 19 June 1946 and placed in reserve. In addition to her sixbattle stars for World War II service,Sentry was also awarded aNavy Unit Commendation and aPresidential Unit Citation.
While she remained in reserve,Sentry's classification was changed to MSF-299, effective 7 February 1955.Sentry was struck from theNavy list on 1 February 1962 and transferred toSouth Vietnam on 31 August 1962.
The formerSentry was transferred to South Vietnam's navy, theRepublic of Vietnam Navy, on 31 August 1962 as RVNSKy Hoa (HQ-09). Her fate after that date is unreported insecondary sources.
In late April 30, 1975, Ky Hoa (HQ-09) had to be repaired at South Vietnam Navy Shipyard Factory (Ba Son) in Saigon, then until the collapse of South Vietnam Government, she was left at the Ba Son Shipyard dock and had been captured by the Communist Army when they won the Vietnam War.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
