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USS Albatross (AM-71)
Encyclopedia
USS Albatross (AM-71) was an of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II.
Originally laid down on 25 October 1930 as the steel-hulled fishing trawler M/V Illinois by the Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
, Bath, Maine
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
, she was launched on 19 March 1931 and delivered on 30 March 1931 to the Booth Fisheries Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Acquired by the U.S. Navy on 9 August 1940 and renamed Albatross on 14 August 1940, conversion to a minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
began on 6 September 1940 by the General Ship and Engine Works, East Boston, Massachusetts. The ship was commissioned as USS Albatross (AM 71) on 8 November 1940 at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
. Conversion was completed on 8 November 1941. She was reclassified as an Unclassified Miscellaneous Auxiliary, IX-171, 1 June 1944.
World War II North Atlantic operations
Following her conversion for naval service as a minesweeperMinesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
Albatross was assigned to duty in the 5th Naval District. In early May 1941, she sailed to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, arriving at Port Royal Bay
Port Royal Bay
Port Royal Bay is located in the western end of Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda.-References:*...
on 9 May. The ship operated in Bermudan waters until 15 August, when she got underway for Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. After a period of upkeep, she returned to her minesweeping activities in the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area. On 12 December, she set sail for Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, arriving at Argentia, Newfoundland, on 23 December 1941.
Iceland Area operations
Albatross left that port on 4 January 1942 in company with to join a BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
bound for Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. En route to the rendezvous, the ships encountered heavy weather which forced them to change their course; and they reached Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, on 16 January. Although Albatross had sustained minor damage, she was sent to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
via northern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Orkney, Shetland, and Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. The minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
finally returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in July, when she arrived at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
. She left Boston as an escort for a convoy on 1 October and reached Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
on 21 October. Albatross spent the remainder of the year in waters around Greenland.
Albatross strikes an iceberg
USS Albatross struck an icebergIceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
on 7 January 1943, causing minor damage. Then an ice pack
Drift ice
Drift ice is ice that floats on the surface of the water in cold regions, as opposed to fast ice, which is attached to a shore. Usually drift ice is carried along by winds and sea currents, hence its name, "drift ice"....
formed astern of the ship, blocking the ship's path until shifting winds cleared the ice, enabling her to leave Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
on 12 January. She touched at Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
on 3 February and then proceeded on to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving on the 8th. Albatross reached Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, on the 11th. After a month's overhaul, she got underway for Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Collision with another ship
On 11 April, while operating out of Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Albatross was struck by another ship and suffered damage which caused her to return to Boston, Massachusetts, for a drydock period. When this was completed, the minesweeper returned to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
to resume her convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
duties.
Stranded in Greenland
Albatross spent the first six months of 1944 moored to the pier at NarsarssuakNarsarsuaq
Narsarsuaq is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 158 inhabitants in 2010. There is a thriving tourism industry in and around Narsarsuaq, whose attractions include a great diversity of wildlife, gemstones, tours to glaciers, and an airfield museum...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, awaiting repairs to her main engine which were held up for lack of spare part
Spare part
Spare Parts may also refer to:* Spare Parts , by Status Quo* Spare Parts is a Doctor Who audio drama.* Spare Parts , by Servotron* "Spare Parts" , by Bruce Springsteen* "Spare Parts"...
s. While she was thus immobilized, she provided repairs and services to other ships. On 1 June, Albatross was redesignated IX-171. When her engine was finally back in working order, she headed home and arrived at Boston, Massachusetts, on 14 July. Then the minesweeper reported to the 1st Naval District for inactivation.
End-of-War decommissioning
Stripped of her military equipment, she was decommissioned on 11 September, and her name was struck from the Navy listNavy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 23 September 1944. Albatross was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 15 November 1944 for disposal. She then resumed the name M/V Illinois, but no record of her subsequent career has been found.