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| The U.S. Navy minesweeper USS Vireo (AM-52) anchored in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in January 1920. U.S. Navy photo NH 43603 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. |
USS Vireo (AM-52) was a U.S. Navy Lapwing-class
minesweeper, No. 52, reclassified on 1 June 1942 as a fleet tug. The bulk of
her combat career was served in this capacity.
History
Ordered: as Minesweeper No. 52
Laid down: 20 November 1918
Launched: 26 May 1919
Commissioned: 16 October 1919
Decommissioned: 18 April 1946
Stricken: 8 May 1946
Fate: Transferred from the Maritime Commission for
disposal on 4 February 1947
General
Characteristics
Displacement: 840 tons
Length: 187 ft 10 in (57.25 m)
Beam: 35 ft 5 in (10.80 m)
Draught: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
Propulsion: Two Babcock & Wilcox header boilers, one
1,400shp Chester Shipbuilding 200psi saturated steam vertical triple expansion
reciprocating engine, one shaft.
Speed: 15 knots
Complement:
186 (minesweeper)
72 (tug)
Armament: two 3 in (76 mm) guns
Construction and Commissioning
She was laid down on 20 November 1918 by the Philadelphia
Navy Yard; launched on 26 May 1919; sponsored by Mrs. E. S. Robert; and
commissioned on 16 October 1919.
Post-World War I Operations
Vireo was assigned to the Train, Atlantic Fleet, and
operated along the U.S. East Coast until departing Norfolk, Virginia, on 8
January 1920 to join the Fleet for its annual winter maneuvers in Cuban waters.
She arrived back in Norfolk on 28 April and was reclassified AM-52 on 17 July
1920.
East Coast Service
In the following years, while some of her sisterships
were decommissioned and laid up in reserve, Vireo continued in active service
with the Fleet. From 1920 to 1932, she served off the U.S. East Coast engaged
in towing targets; transporting men, mail, and materiel; repairing buoys and
beacons; and operating with the Atlantic and Scouting Fleets.
In July 1921, she towed several former German warships to
sea off the Virginia Capes, where they were sunk by aircraft in attempts to
prove that capital ships were vulnerable to attack from the air. Between
December 1930 and March 1931, Vireo served as plane guard for aircraft engaged
in supporting the Nicaraguan-Puerto Rican aerial survey.
Transferred to the Pacific Fleet
Late in 1931, Vireo received orders assigning her to the
U.S. Pacific Fleet and duty with the Train, Base Force. Departing Norfolk on 2
January 1932, Vireo steamed—via Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Panama Canal—to
the U.S. West Coast, arriving at San Pedro, California, on 6 March. Attached to
the Pacific Fleet's Train, the minesweeper continued her Fleet support duties
and ranged the Pacific from the California coast to Panama and the Hawaiian
Islands.
With the emergence of an intransigent Japan and a tense
Far Eastern situation, the focus of American Fleet operations shifted westward
to Hawaii; and Vireo departed San Francisco, California, on 10 November 1940,
bound for Pearl Harbor. Soon after reaching Hawaiian waters, she commenced
operations out of Pearl Harbor, towing target rafts, conducting minesweeping
exercises, and performing towing service to some of the outlying islands of the
Hawaiian group, including Palmyra Island and Johnston Island.
From 5 September to 7 October 1941, Vireo underwent a
navy yard overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard before heading westward once
again. On 7 December 1941, Vireo lay in a nest of her sisterships at the coal
docks at Pearl Harbor, which included USS Rail (AM-26), USS Bobolink (AM-20),
and USS Turkey (AM-13). Shortly before 0800 that morning, Japanese aircraft
roared overhead. The marauders swept over the Fleet's base and devastated not
only Pearl Harbor, but outlying Army and Navy installations all over the island
of Oahu.
In upkeep status, with her engines dismantled, Vireo
nevertheless speedily entered the fight. While her gunners topside fought their
mounts coolly and efficiently, the "black gang" below decks assembled
the ship's engines and fired up the boilers to get underway. Her 3-inch guns
expended some 22 rounds, and the men at her number 2 mount rejoiced when one of
their shells exploded directly in the path of a Japanese bomber, causing the
Japanese plane to crash in a ball of fire.
Vireo and some of her sister sweepers at Pearl Harbor
received orders to assist the stricken USS California (BB-44), sinking into the
oil-stained ooze at berth F-3, off Ford Island.
While engaged in salvage operations alongside California,
through January 1942, Vireo also served briefly as a tender to USS Enterprise
(CV-6). The minesweeper carried ammunition to replenish "Big E's"
depleted magazines and prepare that ship for future forays against the Japanese
empire.
Hawaiian
Area Operations
After conducting minesweeping operations in the Pearl
Harbor channel and other Hawaiian waters, Vireo underwent upkeep at Pearl
Harbor between 10 and 13 February 1942. Following local operations near
Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, she made brief runs to Johnston Island and the port
of Hilo.
In April and May 1942, after another brief stretch around
Pearl Harbor, Vireo conducted local patrols out of Hilo, sometimes in company
with USS Crossbill (AMc-9) to conduct magnetic, acoustic, and mechanical
minesweeping operations; and to patrol harbors with her echo-ranging and
listening gear. From 23 to 24 April, Vireo, in company with Crossbill and USS
Sacramento (PG-19), conducted a search for survivors of a downed Army plane off
Pepeekeo Point, near Hilo, and found one body before she abandoned the task.
Service as Fleet Tug
On 28 May 1942, under secret orders, Vireo and gasoline
tanker USS Kaloli (AOG-13) departed Honolulu and headed for Midway Island.
During the voyage, Vireo was reclassified as an ocean-going tug and
redesignated AT-144 on 1 June 1942. While Vireo and her charge crept toward
Midway at nine knots, two battle fleets steamed toward each other on a
collision course. The American and Japanese Navies were squaring off for the decisive
Battle of Midway.
Vireo and Kaloli hove to in Midway harbor on 3 June,
amidst preparations there for defense of the island. Soon after the two
American ships arrived, they received orders to proceed to a point 30 miles off
Pearl and Hermes Reef, where they were to await further orders. Underway by
1910, Vireo and the gasoline tanker soon arrived at their assigned stations and
lay to.
The
Battle of Midway
Air action the following day, 4 June 1942, was intense.
Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu were all crippled and sunk by
American planes. However, American carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) became the
unfortunate victim of Japanese dive and torpedo bombers which heavily damaged
the carrier, stopping her dead in the water, and forcing a severe list.
Vireo
Takes Yorktown in Tow
Lest the ship capsize before the crew could be removed,
Capt. Elliott Buckmaster ordered Yorktown abandoned. When Yorktown stopped
settling, Buckmaster concluded that the ship could possibly be saved.
Accordingly, Vireo received a summons to take Yorktown in tow. The tug arrived
on the scene by 1135 on 5 June and closed and maneuvered to pass Yorktown a
towline, accomplishing this by 1308. Vireo and her unwieldy charge then labored
painfully ahead, at a speed of under 3 knots, with a protective brood of
destroyers standing by.
Vireo, hampered by a small rudder and inadequate engines
for such a large tow, found herself confronted with the Herculean task of
keeping the big carrier pointed into the wind and on course. The next day, USS
Hammann (DD-412) secured alongside Yorktown to assist the salvage parties on
the larger ship working to correct her trim and to repair her battle damage.
Around 1400 on 6 June, Japanese submarine I-168 fired
torpedoes at the nearly helpless targets. Hammann, mortally hit, broke in two
and sank alongside the towering carrier, which also took two torpedoes. As the
destroyer sank, her depth charges all went off at once, causing tremendous
shock waves which convulsed swimmers in the water and violently wrenched the
old tug. Vireo freed herself from the carrier by cutting the towing cable with
an acetylene torch and then doubled back to commence rescue operations.
Up her sides clambered carriermen and destroyermen alike,
while she maneuvered near the carrier's canting stern to take on board members
of the salvage party who had chosen to abandon the carrier from there. She then
proceeded to secure alongside the wounded flattop in the exact spot where
Hammann had met her doom. Yorktown rolled heavily, her heavy steel hide
pounding the lighter former minecraft's hull with a vengeance as the ships
touched time and time again during the rescue operations. This mission
completed, battered Vireo stood away from the sinking carrier, which sank
shortly after dawn on the 7th.
Vireo's troubles, however, had only begun. Underwater
explosions from Hammann's depth charges had severely jostled the tug's rudder.
As a result, it jammed as Vireo was entering the shipping channel at Midway
harbor on 8 June, and she ran aground on a coral head, carrying away her
echo-ranging gear and flooding her sound room. Repeated attempts to free
herself only resulted in another grounding, so Vireo lay-to and called for a
tow.
After arriving at Midway Island at the end of a towline
from YMT-12, following another brush with a coral head which irreparably
damaged the rudder, Vireo soon got underway for Pearl Harbor, this time behind
USS Seminole (AT-65). Reaching Hawaiian waters on 17 June, she entered the navy
yard at Pearl Harbor for emergency repairs which lasted from 18 to 30 June.
Following this, she remained at the Pearl Harbor yard for a complete overhaul
and drydocking.
Converted
into a Tow Ship and Sent to Fiji
Having concluded the refitting by 19 August, Vireo
conducted post-repair trials before turning in all her mine gear on 25 August.
Two days later, she got underway to escort SS Gulf Queen to the Fiji Islands,
towing two barges. Upon her arrival at Suva on 11 September, the tug refueled,
provisioned, and carried out minor repairs before heading for New Caledonia on
15 September. After arriving at Noumea five days later, on 20 September 1942,
she commenced harbor operations under the control of Commander, Amphibious
Forces, South Pacific (AmphibForSoPac). In accordance with verbal orders from
ComAmphibForSoPac, Vireo's crew set about making camouflage nets and painting
the ship green in preparation for her next assignment.
Guadalcanal
Operations
Arriving at Espiritu Santo on 8 October, she awaited
further orders, spending four days at this port in the New Hebrides before
setting out for the Guadalcanal area on 12 October, to take part in resupply
operations for the U.S. Marines at Henderson Field.
Since the initial landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August
1942, the campaign had been fought tooth and nail. Fierce land and sea battles
had characterized the fighting since the early going. By this juncture,
American aviation operations on Henderson Field had been so endangered by
shellings, bad weather, and inadequate supplies, that the American situation
was extreme.
With American aircraft using up gasoline at an alarming
rate, that commodity ranked high on the list of priority supplies. Accordingly,
a barge-towing operation was mounted in mid-October to ease the critical fuel
situation on Guadalcanal.
The force to carry out this operation comprised USS
Alchiba (AK-23), USS Bellatrix (AK-20), USS Jamestown (PG-55), USS Meredith
(DD-434), USS Nicholas (DD-449), and Vireo, each pulling a barge carrying
barrels of gasoline and quarter-ton bombs. Setting out from Espiritu Santo, the
highly volatile convoy was spotted by Japanese aircraft on 15 October. All but
Vireo and Meredith beat a hasty retreat.
Cautiously proceeding, the pair beat off a two-plane
Japanese attack before they received word that Japanese surface ships were in
the area. Only then did they reverse course. At noon, Meredith ordered old,
slow, and vulnerable Vireo abandoned and took off her crew. Meredith then stood
off to torpedo the tug at 1215 so that she would not fall into enemy hands
intact. Suddenly, a whirlwind of destruction swept down from the sky and
descended upon the destroyer. Like hawks, 38 planes from the Japanese carrier
Zuikaku pounced on Meredith and deluged her with bombs, torpedoes, and bullets,
sinking her in about 15 minutes.
Vireo and the two gasoline barges, however, drifted to
leeward, untouched. One life raft, crammed with some of Meredith's survivors,
succeeded in intercepting the derelict tug and the men gratefully scrambled
aboard. The barges and the tug were later found intact by a PBY naval scout
plane which rescued six of the Meredith's crew. When a salvage party boarded
Vireo on 21 October, the ship was dead in the water with no lights, no steam,
and no power. After abortive attempts to light fires under the boilers, using
wood, the tug had to be taken under tow by USS Grayson (DD-435). In company
with Grayson and USS Gwin (DD-433), Vireo arrived safely at Espiritu Santo on
23 October.
With a new crew—the majority of her old complement lost
in the ordeal with Meredith—she continued to operate in the Guadalcanal area
with Task Force 62. She conducted resupply operations to Guadalcanal, towing
barges loaded with precious gasoline and bombs and carrying out local escort
for other, larger ships, engaged in the same vital duties.
On 3 December, in company with USS Hilo (AGP-2) and
towing PT boats, she departed Nouméa and proceeded to Australia. Arriving at
Cairns on 9 December, she spent the remainder of the year there, enjoying
Christmas and New Year's Day in Australian waters before heading back to the
combat area, arriving at Espiritu Santo on 9 January.
Return
to Guadalcanal Operations
Operating out of the New Hebrides in early January, she
assisted cruisers USS Pensacola (CA-24) and USS Minneapolis (CA-36) as they
underwent repairs following damage received at Tassafaronga. Towing barges and
firing target bursts for destroyers during gunnery practice off Guadalcanal,
the tug continued her operations as before, between that island and Espiritu
Santo and Nouméa. It was dull and monotonous duty but necessary and vital,
nonetheless.
In April 1943, as American forces advanced on the
"island-hopping", "leap-frogging" campaigns against the
Japanese in the South Pacific, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto initiated operation
"I." Yamamoto aimed this stroke at Papua, in the hope of compensating
for the loss of Guadalcanal, by destroying the American advance base there and
thus slowing or stopping the Allied advance. The new Japanese thrust began on 7
April when large formations of Japanese planes swept down from Rabaul to attack
American shipping in Lunga Roads between Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Among these ships, there lay Vireo, engaged in her usual
harbor activities. Pathfinder was engaged in taking soundings; also near were
USS Ortolan (ASR-5) and SC-521. Shortly before the attack came, USS Aaron Ward
(DD-483) passed by, escorting LST-U9. Three Japanese dive bombers swooped down
out of the sun and severely damaged the destroyer with their lethal loads.
Ortolan and Vireo took the crippled Aaron Ward under tow, but the destroyer
sank three miles short of Tulagi.
The
Battle of Kula Gulf
As the New Georgia campaign got underway and American
forces advanced further up the chain of islands in the southwest Pacific, Vireo
continued her operations out of Tulagi, Espiritu Santo, or Nouméa. In the
pre-dawn darkness of 13 July, the Battle of Kula Gulf was fought between
Japanese and American surface forces, the latter augmented by New Zealand
cruiser Leander. In the action which followed, USS Honolulu (CL-48), USS St.
Louis (CL-49), and Leander were damaged. Later that day, Vireo, in company with
USS Rail (AT-139) set out to assist in getting the cripples home and towed
Honolulu to haven at government wharf, Tulagi, where temporary repairs to the cruiser's
bow were made.
Second Reclassification
For the remainder of 1943 and on into 1944, Vireo
followed the Fleet as it inched closer to Japan. In the rearward island areas,
she continued her duties as a harbor tug and local escort vessel. On 15 May
1944, Vireo was reclassified as an ocean-going tug, old, and redesignated
ATO-144.
In late July, American forces struck in northwestern New
Guinea at Cape Sansapor. Vireo took part in these operations from 30 July to 2
August, engaged in the vital support activities necessary to support the
successful landings.
Supporting
the Philippine Invasion
After service in the South Pacific Ocean, the old tug
moved northward with the invasion armada to liberate the Philippine Islands
from the Japanese. On 18 October 1944, American troops stormed ashore on Leyte,
keeping General Mac Arthur's promise to return to Philippine soil. Vireo
operated in support of these landings into December. She departed Morotai on
the 10th, bound for Biak. From there, she proceeded to Leyte, engaged in towing
duties.
Supporting
Okinawa Invasion
Next—after touching at Hollandia, Manus, and Biak—she
took part in the Okinawa operations in April and May 1945. Returning to
Morotai, she engaged in towing operations again, this time to Tacloban on the
island of Leyte, departing there on 25 May for Subic Bay. For the remainder of
the war, she operated between the Philippine Islands and New Guinea, as
American forces continued to sweep northward towards the Japanese home islands.
End-of-War
Operations
On 20 December 1945, after immediate postwar towing
operations at Manila, Luzon, and Samar, she departed Philippine waters on 20
December 1945, in company with USS Rail (ATO-139) and USS Whippoorwill
(ATO-169), and headed for the Marshalls.
Following a brief stay at Eniwetok, Vireo got underway on
4 January 1946 and proceeded via Pearl Harbor to the west coast. She arrived at
San Francisco, California, on 5 February and reported to the Commandant, 12th
Naval District, for disposition.
Decommissioned
As newer and more powerful fleet tugs supplanted the old
converted minesweepers, the need for the old vessels decreased. Thus, on 18
April 1946, Vireo was decommissioned, declared surplus to Navy needs, and made
available for disposal. Struck from the Navy list on 8 May 1946, Vireo was
transferred from the Maritime Commission for disposal on 4 February 1947; but
no records of her subsequent fate have survived. However, the Sasaulito News on
February 13, 1947, reported that the Vireo had arrived at the Arques Shipyard
in Sausalito to be painted in preparation for impending service as
Panamanian-flagged lumber boat carrying hardwoods between Long Beach and
Panama.[1]
Military Awards and Honors
American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET"
clasp
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with seven battle stars
World War II Victory Medal
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Commanding Officers
|
|
LT Ernest Robert Piercey, U.S. Navy
Awarded the Navy Cross (1918)
|
16
October 1919 - 1 July 1920
|
|
LTJG Merritt Philips Higgins, USN
|
1
July 1920 - 25 November 1921
|
|
LT William Hartenstein, USN
|
25
November 1921 - 6 June 1924
|
|
LT Nels Drake, USN
|
6
June 1924
|
|
LT William Hartenstein, USN
|
3
September 1926
|
|
LT William Newton Crofford, Jr., USN
|
26
July 1928 - 18 June 1932
|
|
LT Clarence Lemoine Waters, USN
|
18
June 1932 - 14 June 1933
|
|
LTJG Thomas Joseph Kimes, USN
|
14
June 1933 - 6 July 1934
|
|
LT Owen Rees, USN
|
6
July 1934 - 1 July 1937
|
|
LT Paul George Wrenn, USN
|
1
July 1937 - 1 May 1938
|
|
Chief Boatswain Ralph Bruce Wallace, USN
|
1
May 1938 - 1 April 1939
|
|
LT Philip David Butler, USN
|
1
April 1939 - 30 November 1939
|
|
CWO Richard Kent Margetts, USN
|
30
November 1939 - 31 December 1939
|
|
CWO Clyde Mack Pugh, USN
|
31
December 1939 - 31 January 1940
|
|
LCDR Frederick Joseph Ilsemann, USN
|
31
January 1940 - 18 March 1942
|
|
LT James Claude Legg, U.S. Navy
Awarded the Navy Cross (5 - 7 June 1942) and the Silver Star
|
18
March 1942
|
|
LTJG Charles Henry Stedman, USN
|
2
November 1942
|
|
LTJG Robert Wilson Ekberg, USN
|
31
July 1943
|
|
LTJG Steuart Delamater, USN
|
19
May 1944
|
|
LTJG Melvin Edward Seymour, USNR
|
4
October 1944
|
|
LT Broughton James Barber, USN
|
17
September 1945 - 18 April 1946
|
_at_Pearl_Harbor_in_August_1942.jpg) |
| The U.S. Navy fleet tug USS Vireo (AT-144) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (USA), following repairs and overhaul, on 20 August 1942. Vireo conducted post-repair trials until 25 August. Two days later, she got underway to escort SS Gulf Queen to the Fiji Islands, towing two barges, arriving on 11 September 1942. Official U.S. Navy photo 19-N-34748 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. |
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| Anchored in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, January 1920. U.S. Navy photo NH 43603. |
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| Group photograph of the officers and the sailors of the Puerto Rican, Nicaraguan Aerial Survey group in front of Vireo, 24 January 1931. National Archives photo 80-G-466337 from National Museum of the U.S. Navy. |
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| In port, 1932. U.S. Navy photo NH 50320. |
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| Ship's Officers and Crew, 1934. Note stockless anchor in the port bow hawsepipe, fancy hull number, and ship's dog held by the Sailor at left. U.S. Navy photo NH 85837. |
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| Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. View of USS California (BB 44), taken a day or two after the Japanese raid. Bobolink (AM 20), at left, Vireo and YW-10 are off the battleship's stern, assisting with efforts to keep her afloat. U.S. Navy photo NH 95569. |
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| Battle of Midway, June 1942. Diorama by Norman Bel Geddes, depicting the explosion of depth charges from USS Hammann (DD-412) as she sank alongside USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the afternoon of 6 June 1942. Both ships were torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 while Hammann was assisting with the salvage of Yorktown. Vireo is shown at left, coming back to pick up survivors, as destroyers head off to search for the submarine. National Archives photo 80-G-701902. |
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| 13 July 1943. USS Honolulu (CL-48) in Tulagi Harbor, Solomon Islands, for temporary repair of damage received when she was torpedoed in the bow during the Battle of Kolombangara. Vireo is assisting the damaged cruiser. National Archives photo 80-G-259446. |
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| LCDR James C. Legg with his wife after he was awarded the Navy Cross at Mare Island Navy Yard for his service as Commanding Officer of Vireo during the Battle of Midway. c. February 1947. Photo from the files of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. |
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| James Claude Legg, Lieutenant USN ID photo taken circa 2 May 1942. Lieutenant Legg commanded USS Vireo (AT-144) during the Battle of Midway, earning a Navy Cross for his performance of duty in towing the damaged USS Yorktown (CV-5). Naval History & Heritage Command photograph NH 100171. |
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