USS Devastator (AM-318)
{{short description|Minesweeper of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Devastator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=USS Devastator 96911.jpg |Ship caption= USS Devastator }} {{Infobox ship career |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|1955}} |Ship name=as HMS Augusta (BAM-5) |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=General Engineering & Dry Dock Company, Alameda, California |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship laid down=15 December 1942 |Ship renamed=USS Devastator (AM-318) }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship launched=19 April 1943 |Ship sponsor= Mrs. D. A. Shaw |Ship completed= |Ship commissioned= 12 January 1944 |Ship decommissioned=15 April 1955 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship recommissioned= 26 February 1952 |Ship reclassified= MSF-318, 7 February 1955 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship decommissioned=15 April 1955 |Ship homeport=Long Beach, California |Ship honors= three battle stars for World War II service and two for Korean War |Ship fate=Sold to Mexico, 1973 }} {{Infobox ship career |Ship country=Mexico |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Mexico|naval}} |Ship name=ARM Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada (C74) |Ship namesake=Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada |Ship acquired=1973 |Ship commissioned= |Ship reclassified=G06{{cite book | editor-last = Wertheim | editor-first = Eric | edition = 15th | title = The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems | location = Annapolis, Maryland | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1-59114-955-2 | oclc = 140283156 | page = 472 }} }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship decommissioned=retired from service by 2004 |Ship struck= |Ship fate=unknown }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Ship class= {{sclass|Auk|minesweeper|1}} |Ship displacement=890 tons |Ship length={{convert|221|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|32|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=two {{convert|2976|shp|abbr=on}} Baldwin VO8 diesel electric drive engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. |Ship speed=18 knots |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship complement=105 officers and enlisted |Ship armament=*one 3"/50 caliber gun dual purpose gun mount
}} |
USS Devastator (AM-318) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing naval mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Construction history
Devastator was launched 19 April 1943 by General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, California; sponsored by Mrs. D. A. Shaw; and commissioned 12 January 1944.
World War II service
Devastator – the first ship in the U.S. Navy to bear that name—was an auxiliary ship of the United States Navy. She served as an escort vessel during the latter half of the Second World War, and later saw service in the Korean War.
Devastator arrived at Pearl Harbor 30 March 1944 as escort for a convoy. The next day she began convoy escort duty in Majuro and Kwajalein, which continued until 30 July. During 3 to 17 August she swept off French Frigate Shoals, and after one voyage to Eniwetok from 4 to 25 September, served at Pearl Harbor on training duty for the remainder of the year.
= Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations =
Devastator sailed from Pearl Harbor 27 January 1945 as escort for transports bound for the Battle of Iwo Jima. She participated in preinvasion minesweeping for 3 days before the invasion landings of 19 February, then escorted damaged vessels to Saipan, returning to Iwo Jima 1 March to patrol off the island until 7 March.
On 19 March 1945 Devastator got underway from Ulithi for preinvasion minesweeping at Okinawa. She patrolled during and after the invasion and in the heavy suicide attacks of 6 April downed a Japanese plane about {{convert|50|yd|m}} off her port quarter. On 4 July she cleared Okinawa for minesweeping operations in conjunction with the U.S. 3rd Fleet raids on the Japanese mainland. She sailed from Okinawa 15 July for Seattle, Washington arriving 12 August for overhaul.
Devastator remained on the U.S. West Coast for operations except for two extended periods at Pearl Harbor for experiments in hull design development. She was placed out of commission 30 January 1947 into Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach.
Decommissioning and disposal
Devastator was decommissioned 15 April 1955. She was sold to Mexico in 1973.
Awards and honors
Devastator received three battle stars for World War II service and two battle stars for Korean War service.
Mexican Navy service
The former Devastator was sold to the Mexican Navy in 1973 and renamed ARM Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada (C74). Her pennant number was later changed to G06, and again changed in 1993 to P105. Sabastian Lerdo de Tejada has been retired from service by 2004.
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/d4/devastator.htm}}
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/02318.htm NavSource Online: Devastator (MSF 318)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20000119155006/http://history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-d/am318.htm USS Devastator (AM-318, later MSF-318), 1944-1973]
External links
- [http://www.mine-sweepers.com/devastator4.htm The Mine Sweeper USS Devastator AM-318 Scrapbook]
- [http://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/navy/uss_devastator.htm USS DEVASTATOR (AM-318) - US Navy - Korean War Project]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-318_Devastator.html Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 AM-318 USS Devastator]
- [http://www.multied.com/navy/Minelayer/Ardent.html Devastator (AM-318), and Defense (AM317]
- {{navsource|11/02318|Devastator}}
{{Auk class minesweeper|others}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devastator (AM-318)}}
Category:Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy
Category:Ships built in Alameda, California
Category:World War II minesweepers of the United States
Category:Korean War minesweepers of the United States