USS ''Rail'' (LCI(L)-1022/AMCU-37/MHC-37) was a Landing Craft Infantry Large.of 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 ...

, later converted to an ''AMCU-7''-class coastal minesweeper. The ship was laid down by the Albina Engine & Machine Works,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, on 3 March 1944, launched on 17 April 1944, and commissioned as USS ''LCI(L)-1022'' on 18 May 1944.

World War II Pacific operations

After shakedown out of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, she steamed for

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 ...

on 15 July 1944. After proceeding to

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...

, she continued on to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, took part as a large infantry landing craft in the

Ormoc Bay Ormoc Bay is a large bay in the island of Leyte (island), Leyte in the Philippines. The bay is an extension of the Camotes Sea. The city of Ormoc lies at the head of the bay and exports rice, copra and sugar. The Pacific War, World War II Batt ...

landing on 7 December and the

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

landing on 15 December. She then remained in the

until the end of the war, departing

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

on 5 September for

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

Return Stateside

She put into

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

before steaming for

; San Pedro,

; the Canal Zone; and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where she arrived on 20 May 1946 and reported to Commander, 8th Naval District, for inactivation.

Decommissioning

She was decommissioned on 14 August 1946, and arrived at Mayport,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, on 20 October for lay-up at Green Cove Springs. She was redesignated LSIL-1022 on 28 February 1949. In February 1952 she was moved to Charleston and then

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. On 7 March 1952 she was reclassified a coastal minesweeper (underwater locator), redesignated AMCU-37 and renamed ''Rail''. She was converted by the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard and was recommissioned as USS ''Rail'' (AMCU-37) on 13 September 1952.

Reactivation

After shakedown off

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, ''Rail'' was assigned to Little Creek, Virginia, to evaluate new underwater mine-locating sonar equipment. In March 1953 she was ordered to U.S. Naval Mine Countermeasures Station in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, for further sonar evaluation, returning to Little Creek in December. In June 1954 ''Rail'' was ordered to

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station near the Panama Canal, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá i ...

, Canal Zone, and placed under operational control of the Commandant, 15th Naval District. On 7 February 1955, she was reclassified as a coastal minehunter (MHC-37). She operated out of Coco Solo and Guantanamo Bay, putting into Norfolk briefly on 11 June 1956. She returned to Coco Solo, where she remained until sailing north to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on 4 September 1957.

Final decommissioning

She decommissioned at New London,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, on 13 October 1957, and was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 1 January 1960.

Awards

''Rail'' earned two

battle star 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 ...

s for

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 ...

service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rail (AMCU-37) AMCU-7-class minesweepers Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Cold War mine warfare vessels of the United States