USS Tanager (AM-5)
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USS ''Tanager'' (AM-5) was an acquired by the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
for the task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. ''Tanager'' was named by the U.S. Navy after the
tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...
, one of numerous American
passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
birds. ''Tanager'' (Minesweeper No. 5) was laid down on 28 September 1917 at New York City, by the Staten Island Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 2 March 1918; sponsored by Mrs. G. H. Bates; and commissioned on 28 June 1918.


World War I Atlantic operations

After operating locally out of Boston, Massachusetts through the late summer of 1918, ''Tanager'', in company with ''Western King'', departed
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
, on 26 September 1918, bound for the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. The minesweeper subsequently operated out of Punta Delgada on local escort duties with the Azores detachment through the fall, before pushing on toward Portugal and reaching
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
on the day after Christmas 1918. Later in her tour in European waters, she delivered a case of
serum Serum may refer to: Biology and pharmacology *Serum (blood), plasma from which the clotting proteins have been removed **Antiserum, blood serum with specific antibodies for passive immunity *Serous fluid, any clear bodily fluid Places *Serum, Ind ...
to (Battleship No. 15) which was trying to combat an outbreak of
influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
. In the spring, ''Tanager'' was assigned to the mine-sweeping detachment established to clear the
North Sea Mine Barrage The North Sea Mine Barrage, also known as the Northern Barrage, was a large minefield laid easterly from the Orkney Islands to Norway by the United States Navy (assisted by the Royal Navy) during World War I. The objective was to inhibit the ...
between the shores of Scotland and Norway, and arrived at
Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...
, Scotland, on 7 May 1919. The barrage – which had been laid during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
to prevent a sortie by the
German High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet () was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. In February 1907, the Home Fleet () was renamed the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; ...
and forays by German
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s – now prevented the resumption of the commercial shipping which had criss-crossed the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
before the war. While sweeping Group 9, the third operation conducted by the mine force, ''Tanager'' suffered damage in heavy weather and was forced to put into Kirkwall for a week of repairs. Besides the hazards posed by the stormy North Sea, the mines provided their own particular brand of danger.


Damaged by a near-miss mine

While sweeping Group 10 late in June 1919, ''Tanager'' fouled a mine in one of her "kites"; and it exploded close aboard, forcing the ship to limp to Kirkwall for repairs. The severity of her damage required a period in the Admiralty dock at Chatham. By late summer, the barrage had been swept. In company with other vessels of her squadron, ''Tanager'' sailed for the United States on 1 October 1919 and – after stops at Brest, France;
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
; and
Hamilton, Bermuda Hamilton is the capital city of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and the main settlement of Pembroke Parish. A port city, Hamilton is Bermuda's financial and commercial centre, and a popular tourist destination. Its population of ...
– arrived at New York on 19 November 1919. For part of the voyage, from Lisbon to Hamilton, she towed
submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...
.


Stateside repairs

Upon completion of permanent repairs at
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 ...
, ''Tanager'' was assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet in December 1919. She was reclassified AM-5 on 17 July 1920.


Pacific Ocean assignment

The
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
steamed to the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
and operated out of
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 ...
from 1920 to 1941. Her services for the Fleet included target-towing, participation in mine-laying and minesweeping exercises, and transportation of men and mail. In addition, she took part in the
Tanager Expedition The ''Tanager'' Expedition was a series of five biological surveys of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands conducted in partnership between the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bishop Museum, with the assistance of the United States Navy. Four ex ...
s to Necker Island and Nihoa Island in the Hawaiian chain and operated briefly at
Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...
in the summer of 1923 during an
ornithological Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
survey. In August 1925, she served on a plane guard station for the PN flying boats' unsuccessful flight from the
West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...
to Hawaii. Her routine duties at Pearl Harbor were twice interrupted. In early 1928, she was assigned duty as station ship at
Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...
, Samoa; and, late in March, she unsuccessfully attempted to free , aground on
Mitchell Island Mitchell Island is an island in the North Arm of the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada, located between the cities of Vancouver and Richmond (incorporated as part of the latter). It is crossed by (and has on- and off-ramps for) the Knigh ...
. In 1930, ''Tanager'' operated between
Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...
, California and San Diego, for a time, towing and assisting in the preparation of many decommissioned flush-deck, four-pipe
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s for inactive berthing at the Destroyer Base at the latter place.


World War II Pacific Theatre operations

In early 1941, ''Tanager'' received a major overhaul which transformed her
silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...
. Her heavy foremast and boom were removed; splinter-shielding was added around her guns and upper bridge; and a depth-charge track was fitted astern. Thus outfitted, she lost excess topside weight and had better fields of fire for her
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
battery. Assigned to
Mine Division MinDiv was a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "Minesweeper Division." The Commander of a minesweeper division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINDIV (followed by a number), such as COMMINDIV EIGHT. References See ...
9,
Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...
, ''Tanager'' sailed from Pearl Harbor on 11 May 1941, bound for the
Asiatic Station The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...
. The minecraft proceeded via
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
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 ...
. En route, she plane-guarded for two PBY's being flown out as reinforcements for
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Thomas C. Hart Thomas Charles Hart (June 12, 1877July 4, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States Se ...
's air patrol forces. Calling at Guam from 29 to 30 May 1941, ''Tanager'' arrived at
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
on 5 June 1941. She commenced local operations almost immediately and, for the next few months, made patrols off the
Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
minefield A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...
s; towed targets for
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
and
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
exercises; and conducted
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 ...
and
minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...
duties. From October through December 1941, ''Tanager'' participated in the laying of an
anti-submarine net An anti-submarine net or anti-submarine boom is a boom placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines. Net laying ships would be used to place and remove the nets. The US Navy used anti-submarine nets in the ...
across Mariveles Bay,
Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...
– a difficult operation accomplished in spite of the fact that there were no specialized net-laying craft in 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 ...
.


Japanese planes attack the fleet in the Philippines

On 7 December 1941, Japanese planes struck
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 ...
and plunged the United States into the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
. On the next day, Japanese planes destroyed General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
's Far East Air Force on the ground on its Philippine fields and struck the
Cavite Navy Yard Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, it is one of the most industri ...
on the 10th. ''Tanager'' lay alongside Machina Wharf when the high-level bombers came over. In the attack, the minesweeper managed to leave the area. Others were not so fortunate. The minesweeper was wrecked; the submarine was sunk alongside a
pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
; and the destroyers and were damaged. More importantly,
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
was destroyed as an operating base for the
Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...
. With Cavite out of commission and Manila declared an
open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open, the opposing military will ...
on Christmas Day 1941, American and Filipino forces withdrew to Bataan and
Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
. ''Tanager'' carried the equipment and staff of the Commandant,
16th Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...
, Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, to Corregidor during his withdrawal; and she subsequently operated out of Corregidor on inshore patrol duties.


Sunk by enemy shore fire

In ensuing months, ''Tanager'' and her dwindling number of sister ships and former China
river gunboat A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried more ...
s lived a furtive, hunted existence. ''Tanager'' served almost until the bitter end. On 4 May 1942, the day of the commencement of the
Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...
, the minesweeper was hit by
shore battery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
fire from Japanese guns emplaced on Bataan. Mortally hit, she sank off Corregidor that day.


Awards

''Tanager'' was struck from the
Navy Directory 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 8 May 1942 and received one
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 ...
for her service in the
Philippine 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 ...
campaign in 1941 and 1942.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanager (AM-5) Lapwing-class minesweepers Ships built in Staten Island 1918 ships World War I minesweepers of the United States World War II minesweepers of the United States World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea Tanager Expedition Maritime incidents in May 1942 Ships sunk by coastal artillery