USS Swallow (AM-4)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Swallow.

USS Swallow (AM-4) was a U.S. Navy Lapwing-class minesweeper. Swallow was laid down at New York City on 18 March 1918 by the Todd Shipyard Corp.; launched on Independence Day 1918; sponsored by Miss Sara V. Brereton; and commissioned on 8 October 1918. She served until 19 February 1938, when she ran aground at Kanaga Island.

History
United States
Name	USS Swallow
Builder	Todd Shipyard Co., New York
Laid down	18 March 1918
Launched	4 July 1918
Commissioned	8 October 1918
Stricken	5 May 1938
Fate	Ran aground at Kanaga Island, Alaska, 19 February 1938
General characteristics
Class and type	Lapwing-class minesweeper
Displacement	950 long tons (965 t) est.
Length	187 ft 10 in (57.25 m)
Beam	35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Draft	9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	78
Armament	2 × 3 in (76 mm) guns

History

North Atlantic operations

Following commissioning, Swallow underwent minor adjustments and prepared for foreign service. On 6 April 1919, she steamed out of Boston Harbor, bound for Inverness, Scotland. There she joined the Minesweeping Detachment of the Northern Barrage. For most of the remainder of 1919. Swallow swept mines from the North Sea Mine Barrage laid by the Allied and Associated Powers during World War I.

West Coast operations

The minesweeper returned to the United States late in 1919 and put into the navy yard at Charleston, South Carolina, for overhaul and repairs. Early in 1920, she sailed for the U.S. West Coast and then north to Bremerton, Washington. For the next 18 years, Swallow operated along the northwestern Pacific coast of North America, spending much of her time in Alaskan waters. In 1934, she became a unit of the Aleutian Islands Survey Expedition.

Swallow runs aground

On 19 February 1938, Swallow ran aground at Kanaga Island and was stranded there. The crew was rescued by USCGC Spencer (WPG-36), which was cited by the Department of the Navy for the rescue. Salvage efforts soon proved impracticable and her name was struck from the Navy Directory on 5 May 1938.

Notes

Citations

References used

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• "Edward H. Smith Biography" (PDF). Retired U.S. Coast Guard Flag Officers. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 26 November 2013.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Swallow (AM 4) at NavSource Naval History
• USS Swallow
• USS Swallow (AM 4)
• uboat.net – Allied Warships – Lapwing class Minesweepers
• Shipwrecks and Groundings in the Aleutian Islands, Islands off the Alaska Peninsula, and Pribilof Islands