- USS Grackle (AM-73)
USS "Grackle" (AM-73) was a minesweeper in the service of the
United States Navy duringWorld War II ."Grackle" was laid down on
6 June 1929 as MV "Notre Dame" by theBath Iron Works Corp. ofBath, Maine , for F. J. O'Hara and Sons, Inc. ofBoston, Massachusetts . She was launched on2 December 1929 , delivered on21 December 1929 , and renamed "Grackle" on14 August 1940 . Acquired by the Navy on16 September 1940 , her conversion to a minesweeper began on1 October 1940 at theBethlehem Steel Co. of East Boston, Massachusetts. "Grackle" was commissioned on4 February 1941 , and her conversion completed on15 March 1941 .World War II North Atlantic operations
Following shakedown out of
Yorktown, Virginia , andNewport, Rhode Island , USS "Grackle" departedPortland, Maine on25 September 1941 for service in Newfoundland as a unit of Minesweeper Division 25, Squadron 9 of the Atlantic Fleet. ReachingArgentia, Newfoundland on2 October , "Grackle" conductedminesweeping patrols from that port until15 January 1942 , and following repairs at Boston, Massachusetts she returned to sweeping duties at Argentia until the spring of1944 .Post-War deactivation
USS "Grackle" put in at Boston on
17 May 1944 and was decommissioned there on25 August 1944 . She was transferred to theMaritime Commission for disposal on9 September 1946 and struck from theNavy Register on16 September 1944 . Final fate unknown.References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g7/grackle-i.htm
External links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/02073.htm NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Grackle (AM-73)]
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