USS Redwing (AM-48)
{{short description|Minesweeper of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Redwing}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= USS Redwing (AM 48).jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|1943}} |Ship name= |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Baltimore Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Maryland |Ship laid down=5 August 1918 |Ship launched=7 June 1919 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=17 October 1919, as Minesweeper No.48 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck=19 August 1943 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified=*AM-48, 17 July 1920
|Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Lost to underwater mine explosion off Bizerte, Tunisia, 29 June 1943 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class={{sclass|Lapwing|minesweeper | ship}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|950|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} |Ship length={{convert|187|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship propulsion=1 × {{convert|1400|shp|abbr=on}} Harlan and Hollingsworth vertical triple-expansion steam engine, 1 shaft |Ship speed={{convert|14|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= |Ship complement=72 |Ship armament=*2 × 3"/50 caliber gun guns
|Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} |
USS Redwing (AM-48) was an {{sclass|Lapwing|minesweeper||ship}} commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War I. She was responsible for removing mines from harbors, and, in her role as rescue and salvage ship, she was responsible for coming to the aid of stricken vessels. She was laid down 5 August 1918 by the Baltimore Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, Maryland; launched 7 June 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Fred A. Plagemann, wife of the prospective commanding officer; and commissioned 17 October 1919.
Post-World War I service
She operated out of New York City on various training missions until she decommissioned on 14 April 1922. Placed in service early in 1924, she steamed to Norfolk, Virginia, and was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard on 24 May. Commissioned on 11 October as USCGC Redwing, a cruising cutter, she operated out of New York City and Boston until 19 November 1928. In January 1929 she assumed permanent duty out of Astoria, Oregon.
Except for various patrol assignments, Redwing remained at Astoria until 1941. Then returning to the east coast, she was transferred back to the U.S. Navy on 29 August, was redesignated ARS-4, and entered Brooklyn Navy Yard for conversion.
Redwing recommissioned 28 October. After shakedown, she was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet on 20 November. Departing New York the same day, she arrived Argentia, Newfoundland, on 23 November; and from there steamed to Iceland, arriving 9 December.
World War II operations
Remaining in Icelandic waters through 9 August 1942, she performed towing and limited salvage services. She arrived New York 30 August and there engaged in salvage operations until October, when she underwent a short availability at Norfolk, Virginia.
Redwing departed 6 November for Casablanca, arriving the 25th after a three-day stopover in Bermuda. She operated under the Casablanca Port Authority as the only salvage ship in the harbor until 5 May 1943. She next reported to Commander, Task Force 84, reached Algiers 19 June, towed a damaged merchant ship into port, and departed 27 June for Bizerte with four YTs in tow.
Sinking
At 0605 29 June, when about {{convert|10|nmi|km}} from her destination, Redwing was rocked by an underwater explosion which tore a large hole in her hull just below the bridge. Five officers and eight enlisted men were blown overboard. She began to list dangerously and the order was given to abandon ship. The four tugboats received the crew and recovered two injured officers, two wounded enlisted men, and the body of one other enlisted man.
Her decks awash, Redwing was taken in tow by the tugboats. At 1005 near the main channel leading into the harbor at Bizerte, a British destroyer passed close abeam and her wake caused Redwing to roll over. The towing hawsers were cut and she sank in {{convert|160|ft|m}} of water.
She was struck from the Navy list on 19 August 1943.
References
- {{cite journal |last1=Cortes|first1=Antonio |title=Re: The Loss of USS Redwing (ARS-4) |journal=Warship International |date=1987 |volume=XXIV |issue=1 |pages=5–6 |issn=0043-0374}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r3/redwing-i.htm}}
External links
- {{navsource|11/02048|USS Redwing (Minesweeper No.48/AM-48/ARS-4)}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.nafts.net/ARS.htm |title=The ARS |website=National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320193444/http://www.nafts.net/ARS.htm |archivedate=2012-03-20}}
{{Lapwing class minesweeper}}
{{June 1943 shipwrecks}}
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Category:Lapwing-class minesweepers
Category:Ships built in Baltimore
Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
Category:Lapwing-class minesweepers converted to rescue and salvage ships