USS ''Turkey'' (AMS-56/YMS-444) was a ''YMS-135'' subclass of s built for the

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during

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History

''Turkey'' was a coastal minesweeper of the United States Navy laid down as ''YMS-444'' on 16 November 1943 at

Kingston, New York Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...

, by C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Inc.; launched on 20 July 1944; and commissioned on 26 December 1944. ''YMS-444'' completed fitting out at

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 * ...

and, in January 1945, made a

shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

voyage to Little Creek, Virginia. On 6 February, she arrived at

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, and remained there while members of her crew attended Fire Fighting School. Then, late in February, she returned to New York. In March, the auxiliary motor minesweeper began operating out of Tompkinsville, New York. On 20 July, she departed New York and, after a stop at

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, steamed through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

to the

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 ...

coast, arriving at

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on 8 September. On the 17th, she set her course westward 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 ...

and the

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. Although the war was over when ''YMS-444'' arrived in the

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, there were still enormous tasks left for the minesweepers. ''YMS-444'' pursued her duties operating out of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

and

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

in October 1945. In November, she moved on to the Ryūkyūs and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, sweeping mines in the

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and

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areas, and remained in Japanese waters into the new year. On 24 February 1946, she departed

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and set her course, via the

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and Marshalls, for Pearl Harbor and California. After pausing at

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, in April, she got underway for the

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on the 27th. It was 6 June before she departed the Canal Zone and set her course, via Charleston, for

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. She was decommissioned on 30 August 1946 and remained in the

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as a U.S. Naval Reserve

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 ...

. For the next six years, ''YMS-444'' operated out of New York ports and on the

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. During part of this period she was docked at the USNR Station Fall River.On 1 September 1947, she was named USS ''Turkey'' and redesignated a motor minesweeper, AMS-56. She was placed in commission, in reserve, in April 1950, and she returned to active status on 21 November. ''Turkey'' returned to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

in March 1952 and was assigned to serve with the Mine Forces, Atlantic Fleet, in August. During the following four years, she operated out of

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ports with occasional voyages to the

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. On 7 February 1955, she was reclassified an old coastal

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 ...

MSC(O)-56. She arrived at Charleston on 9 November 1956 and was decommissioned there on 23 November 1956. Then, on 1 May 1957, she departed Charleston, steamed via New York, Halifax, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and reported to the Commander, 4th Naval District, Toledo, Ohio, on 27 May 1957. In 1960, ''Turkey'' was transferred to the

1st 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 ...

to continue as a Reserve training ship. As such, she operated out of

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

, until September 1968 when she was replaced as a training ship by . Her name 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 ...

as of October 1968, and she was sold in August 1969. Her ultimate fate is unknown.

References

External links

Photo gallery
at navsource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkey (AMS-56) YMS-1-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Kingston, New York 1944 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Training ships of the United States Navy Cold War minesweepers of the United States