- USS Tumult (AM-127)
USS "Tumult" (AM-127) was an "Auk"-class minesweeper acquired by the
U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.History
"Tumult" was laid down on
21 July 1941 atChickasaw, Alabama , by theGulf Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on19 April 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. D. M. Pierce; and commissioned on27 February 1943 , Comdr. Charles E. Judge,USNR , in command.Following tests and fitting out, "Tumult" began escort duties on the
Eastern Sea Frontier late in March 1943. In April, the new minesweeper participated inantisubmarine warfare training out ofKey West, Florida . On the 21st, she began minesweeping, fueling, andantiaircraft drills in company with other minesweepers on Virginia's York River. Then, on the 24th, she got underway forBermuda and searched en route for survivors from the freighter "SS Santa Catalina" which had been sunk. "Tumult" discovered debris and a life ring on the 26th but failed to find any survivors.Following repairs at
Norfolk, Virginia , the minesweeper escorted a group of small coastal transports which departed fromCharleston, South Carolina , on15 May . The short voyage toKey West, Florida afforded her practice in escort procedures."Tumult" got underway again on the 20th and set her course for the
Panama Canal and the Pacific. Early in June, she paused briefly at Manzanillo,Mexico , to obtain emergency medical aid for a member of her crew and then continued on toSan Diego, California . Provisioning, exercises, and repairs there occupied the remainder of June and most of July. On21 July , the minesweeper got underway for San Francisco where she remained throughout most of August. On the 28th, she finally set course for the Pacific war zone, escorting a convoy of vulnerable, slow-moving, cargo vessels which pulled a section of portable dock "ABSD-1". "Tumult" spent the entire month of September shepherding these awkward charges across the Pacific. On2 October , having safely delivered theconvoy , "Tumult" anchored atEspiritu Santo .Throughout the remainder of 1943 and into 1944, "Tumult" escorted
convoys among theSolomon Islands and between the Solomons andNew Caledonia . Short periods of availability atEspiritu Santo and mine-sweeping exercises offSavo Island varied the sweeper's duties until late in June when she departedPort Purvis for a week of recreation and rehabilitation inSydney, Australia . In July, she returned to theSolomons to resume the familiar routine of convoy protection.Late in August, she participated in tactical maneuvers and minesweeping exercises in the Russells preparing for the impending assault on the
Palaus . Underway fromGuadalcanal on8 September , "Tumult" screened her task group on station until her arrival offPeleliu on D-day,15 September 1944 . Early that morning, she began sweeps offAngaur Island and, during the days which followed, alternated minesweeping duties with patrolling and screening of the transport area."Tumult" got underway from
Peleliu on19 September and set her course for yet another island strike—the assault onUlithi . She arrived off the atoll on21 September and, through the following days, swept for mines to prepare this prize anchorage for use by American vessels. On23 September , the day of the unopposed landings, she swept 21 mines before a contact mine fouled her gear and forced her to retire to the disposal area to rid herself of both her port sweeping gear and the otherwise inextricable, offending mine. "Tumult" departedUlithi on25 September with aconvoy of transports bound for DutchNew Guinea .After repairs, she departed Manus on
10 October 1944 with a sweeping unit of task group TG 77.5 bound for thePhilippines . On the 17th, "Tumult" began sweepingSurigao Strait in gale force winds; and on the 19th — the day before General MacArthur's landing onLeyte — she swept 26 contact mines which attested to the thoroughness of the Japanese defenses. On the 23d, she anchored in the transport area ofLeyte Gulf .In the days that followed, Japanese air raiders kept
antiaircraft crews busy; and, on the 25th, "Tumult's" gunners scored a hit on a "Val" which went down in flames two miles (3 km) off the port quarter. The next day, "Tumult" fired on 11 Japanese planes and had reason to thank her luck as a bomb dropped convert|300|yd away off her starboard bow. Later that day, she splashed a "Sally" which went down one mile (1.6 km) off her port bow. On the 28th, "Tumult" got underway for Manus.After repairs at
Seeadler Harbor , she set her course eastward and steamed viaPearl Harbor andSan Francisco, California toPortland, Oregon , and arrived there on7 December . "Tumult" underwent overhaul and shakedown on theU.S. West Coast ; then departedLong Beach, California , on23 April 1945 .She arrived at
Pearl Harbor on1 May for a week of exercises before rendezvousing with a convoy bound for theMarianas . On22 May , she arrived atGuam but soon was underway again with a slow-movingconvoy steaming forOkinawa . On4 June ,typhoon winds forced theconvoy , whose tows and tugs were experiencing extreme difficulty in holding course, to disperse. Two days elapsed before rendezvous with the last of the stragglers had been achieved. On the 9th, "Tumult" screened theconvoy as it enteredBuckner Bay , and then she proceeded on toKerama Retto .On the 11th, the minesweeper began patrolling off
Okinawa . As she steamed on station on the evening of the 16th, explosions rent the night, and fire illuminated the horizon some eight miles (13 km) away as destroyer "Twiggs" (DD-591) went down, the victim of akamikaze . "Tumult" continued on picket offOkinawa until30 June , with only brief respites atKerama Retto for availability and provisioning. She then participated in four days of exercises before setting course for sweeps in area "Juneau" of theEast China Sea . On17 July , Tumult was provisioning atBuckner Bay when atyphoon warning prompted her to depart on short notice, leaving behind her navigator and engineering officer as she headed out to sea. For three days, she steamed northward outdistancing thetyphoon ; then returned toOkinawa to complete her interrupted logistic tasks.As the war ended, "Tumult" was sweeping in area "Skagway" off the coast of
Kyūshū ,Japan . A few days later, she rendezvoused with theU.S. 3rd Fleet as it steamed northward. On28 August , "Tumult" and three other minesweepers swept past the headlands ofTokyo Bay and into the harbor. The once busy Japanese port presented a bleak and unnervingly quiet appearance. Only a singlebattleship , "Nagato", and a few smaller vessels remained; and a lone beacheddestroyer added to the desolation of the scene, as the victorious American ships entered the harbor."Tumult" immediately began sweeping the anchorage and, in the following days, helped to remove minefields at the harbor entrance. During most of September, she swept off the eastern coast of
Honshū , clearingSagami Wan andIshinomaki Wan . While the minesweeper was anchored inTokyo harbor on the 27th, a motor whale-boat capsized nearby in heavy seas. "Tumult" launched her ownwhaleboat and rescued 20 survivors from the stormy waters of the bay. Early in October, the minesweeper sat out atyphoon inTokyo Bay ; then got underway for Sasebo where she stopped before departingJapan for sweeps in area "Klondike" in theYellow Sea .On
30 October , accidental engine room flooding left one of "Tumult's" main propulsion motors inoperable, stopping her port shaft. On the first day of November, she headed forJapan and underwent repairs at Sasebo until the end of the year. In January 1946, she steamed viaEniwetok andPearl Harbor toSan Pedro, California , arriving there on15 February . She departed the west coast on3 March and proceeded via thePanama Canal toCharleston, South Carolina .In June, she made a training cruise out of
Jacksonville, Florida , and spent the rest of 1946 and most of 1947 operating along the east coast. In November of the latter year, she varied her peacetime duties with mine-sweeping offNaval Station Argentia , Newfoundland.From January 1948 until July 1952, "Tumult" continued to operate out of Atlantic ports and made three
Caribbean cruises. On25 August 1952, "Tumult" departed Charleston withMinesweeper Division 82, setting her course for theBritish Isles . In ensuing months, the veteran minesweeper participated inNATO exercises and visited manyMediterranean ports. She returned to Charleston on7 February 1953 and resumed her duties out of east coast ports, which she continued until21 July 1954 when she arrived atOrange, Texas , for inactivation.Two months later, on
21 September 1954 , "Tumult" was placed out of commission. On7 February 1955 , she was redesignated a steel-hulled fleet minesweeper (MSF-127). Her name was struck from theNavy list on1 May 1967 . Her hulk was later purchased by the Southern Scrap Metal Co., Ltd.,New Orleans, Louisiana .Awards and honors
"Tumult" received five
battle stars forWorld War II service.References
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See also
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List of United States Navy ships External links
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-127_Tumult.html Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 AM-127 USS Tumult]
* [http://www.historycentral.com/Navy/Minelayer/tumult.html Tumult AM-127]
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* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5239.html USS Tumult (AM 127)]
* [http://www.ussnicholas.org/wwii_war_record.html capsized motor whaleboat and transferred them to the USS TUMULT (AM127)]
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