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USS Pioneer (AM-105)
Encyclopedia
USS Pioneer (AM-105) was an acquired by 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...
for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Pioneer was a U.S. Navy oceangoing minesweeper, named after the word "pioneer," which is defined as a person or group that originates or helps open up a new line of thought or activity or a new method or technical development.
Pioneer was laid down 30 October 1941 by Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
; launched 26 July 1942; sponsored by Mrs. H. R. Jessup; and commissioned 27 February 1943, Lt. Comdr. H. B. Stevens in command.
Convoy assignment
Pioneer trained her crew and experimented with newly developed gear in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, and the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
before joining a Mediterranean-bound 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...
at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 14 May 1943, for the first of four escort voyages from New York or 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....
, to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n ports. In November she took up patrol and escort duty within the Mediterranean.
On 26 November 1943, while bound east from Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, Pioneer's convoy was attacked by German bombers. They hit a British troopship (with over 2,000 US servicemen aboard) and set her afire; Pioneer stood by, continuing to fire on the attacking aircraft while conducting the rescue of 606 soldiers and crewmen from Rohna. The ship (with its crew of roughly 100 sailors), however, was never given any recognition for the rescue of over 600 HMT Rohna survivors. To this day (June, 2007), The Rohna Survivors Organization continues to try to have the Pioneer recognized for this extraordinary rescue operation.
Operations in the invasion of Italy
She protected critically important Allied convoys in the Mediterranean until assigned to the assault force for the Anzio operationOperation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
early in January 1944. After training at Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, her group sortied from Naples on 21 January to sweep a mile-wide channel into the fire support and transport areas, and then swept these areas themselves. When the transports entered the newly cleared area, Pioneer began antisubmarine and antiaircraft patrol, and then resumed escort duties, bringing reinforcements to Anzio on 24 January.
Desperate German resistance by land and air as well as from the sea prevented a breakout from Anzio. Pioneer guarded the beleaguered beachhead, patrolling to seaward, escorting supply and reinforcement movements, and sweeping mines dropped by enemy planes intent on isolating the beachhead by sea as it was by land. She returned to wider-ranging escort assignments when advancing Allied land forces broke through to Anzio late in May.
Operations in invasion of France
On 12 August, Pioneer sortied for the invasion of southern FranceOperation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
. Again minesweepers led the way, clearing the assault area, ignoring shore battery attacks while completing their complex and vital task. Patrol and sweeping operations included extensive activity to prepare newly-captured Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
to receive shipping.
World War II Pacific operations
Pioneer sailed from BizerteBizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
on 24 November for stateside overhaul preparatory to Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
deployment, for which she left 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....
, 15 February 1945, bound for Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
en route to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Arriving Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 18 March after underway training, Pioneer installed new radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
gear and joined in exercises before getting underway for Okinawa on 23 May. Calls en route delayed her arrival until 7 August. For the remainder of the year, Pioneer joined in the gigantic task of clearing Japanese and Chinese waters of the thousands of mines laid in a decade of warfare.
Decommissioning and sale
Peaceful use of the oceans restored, Pioneer returned to San Pedro, California, 14 February 1946 to inactivate. She decommissioned and went into reserve at San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, 8 July 1946. She was redesignated MSF-105 on 7 February 1955. Struck from the Navy Register on 1 July 1972, the ship was sold to Mexico on 19 September 1972.
Mexican Navy service
On 19 September 1972, the former Pioneer was sold to the Mexican NavyMexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over...
and became ARM Leandro Valle (C70), the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the Mexican Navy's of offshore patrol vessels. Her pennant number was later changed to G01, and in 1993, was changed for the final time to P101. Leandro Valle was retired from service by 2004. According to divers on a trip to Mexico, the ship had been sunken by the Mexican navy in June of 2006.