- USS Obstructor (ACM-7)
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Career 
Name: USS Obstructor (ACM-7) Builder: Marietta Manufacturing Company, Point Pleasant, West Virginia Laid down: as USAMP 1st Lt. William G. Sylvester (MP-5) for the U.S. Army Acquired: 4 January 1945 Commissioned: 1 April 1945 Decommissioned: 28 June 1946 Renamed: Obstructor, 19 January 1945 Struck: 19 July 1946 Fate: Transferred to the Coast Guard, 28 June 1946, commissioned 1 February 1947 as USCGC Heather (WABL / WLB-331) Status: Decommissioned USCG 15 December 1967 Notes: Transferred to Seattle, 12 April 1968 General characteristics Class and type: minelayer Displacement: 880 long tons (894 t) Length: 188 ft 2 in (57.35 m) Beam: 37 ft (11 m) Draft: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) Speed: 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) Complement: 69 Armament: 1 × 40 mm gun USS Obstructor (ACM-7) was a minelayer in the United States Navy during World War II.
Built by the Marietta Manufacturing Company, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, as a U.S. Army mine planter USAMP 1st Lt. William G. Sylvester (MP-5) was delivered December 1942[1] to the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, Mine Planter Service. She was named for the first coast artillery officer killed (Hickam Field, Hawaii on Dec 7, 1941)[2] in action in World War II.
The ship was transferred to the Navy, 4 January 1945; renamed Obstructor, 19 January 1945; converted at the Charleston Navy Yard; and commissioned 1 April 1945, Lt. Sammie Smith in command.
Contents
Pacific Theatre operations
Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Obstructor, a minesweep gear and repair ship, loaded gear and other supplies at Norfolk, Virginia, and sailed 11 June 1945 for the Panama Canal. Transiting the canal on the 21st, she proceeded up the coast to San Diego, California. There at the end of the war, she sailed for the Far East 18 August. Steaming via the Marshalls and the Marianas, she arrived at Manila and reported for duty with MinRon 106, 8 October. On the 17th she got underway for Haiphong, arriving and joining task unit TU 74.4 on the 22nd. Assuming duties as flagship, MinRon 106 the same day, Obstructor served as minecraft tender for that task unit as it operated off Haiphong harbor, the island of Hainan and off Chinese ports during the next six months.
Decommissioning
In early May 1946, she sailed east en route back to the United States. Arriving at San Francisco, California, 15 June, she decommissioned and was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard on 28 June and was struck from the Navy List 19 July 1946.
U.S. Coast Guard Service history
Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard the ship was commissioned 1 February 1947 as Heather (WABL / WLB-331) and stationed at Mobile, Alabama until 5 December 1949. Heather was transferred and began operations out of San Pedro, California 6 December 1949 until decommissioning on 15 December 1967 and transfer to Seattle, Washington on 12 April 1968.[3]
References
- ^ http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/smallships/armyminecraft.htm | Shipbuilding History - U.S. Army Mine Craft - MP, L and M
- ^ http://www.nps.gov/valr/historyculture/us-army.htm | National Park Service - World War II Valor in the Pacific - U.S. Army Casualties
- ^ http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Heather_1947.pdf | USCG History - Heather (WABL / WLB-331)
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
See also
External links
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - USCGC Heather (WLB 331) - ex-WAGL-331 - ex-USS Obstructor (ACM 7) - ex-USAMP 1st Lieutenant William G. Sylvester
- Coast Artillery Corps - Army Mine Planter Service
List of mine countermeasure ships of the United States NavyCategories:- Ships built in West Virginia
- 1942 ships
- Mine planters of the United States Army
- World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States
- Chimo class minelayers
- Ships of the United States Coast Guard
- United States Navy ships transferred to the United States Coast Guard
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