USS ''Hawk'' (MSC(O)-17/AMS-17/YMS-362) was a built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. ''Hawk'' was laid down as ''YMS-362'' on 24 November 1942 by Robert Jacob Inc. of

City Island, New York City Island is a neighborhood in the northeastern Bronx in New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately long by wide. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay Park, and ...

, launched, 22 May 1943, sponsored by Miss Marilyn Miller. The ship was completed on 30 September 1943, and commissioned on 4 October 1943. ''YMS-362'' spent its first year of commissioned life in training on the eastern coast of the United States. She departed

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, and the Atlantic Fleet 19 October 1944, and arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

25 November for war duty. She swept mines in support of the invasion of

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

17 February 1945, destroying two enemy machine gun emplacements ashore as the invasion began. ''YMS-362'' witnessed the mushroom cloud resulting from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and was present in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

at the signing of the

Japanese Instrument of Surrender The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan, marking the end of hostilities in World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan and from the Allied n ...

on 2 September 1945. Her

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of removing explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that purpos ...

patrols continued around the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

home islands until 28 December, when ''YMS-362'' began passage for her return to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, arriving in late May 1946. After overhaul and refitting, she took up duties with the Atlantic Fleet as a unit attached to the U.S. Naval Mine-craft Base at

. During a second refitting, on 17 February 1947 ''YMS-362'' was renamed and redesignated ''Hawk'' (AMS-17). Reclassified a second time as MSC(O)-17 on 7 February 1955, ''Hawk'' continued her service as a minesweeping

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

. ''Hawk'' was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

17 October 1957 and sold. Her ultimate fate is unknown.

Awards and honors

''Hawk'' received four

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

for her service in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawk (AMS-17) YMS-1-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in City Island, Bronx 1943 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Training ships of the United States Navy Cold War minesweepers of the United States