USS Penetrate (AM-271)

USS "Penetrate" (AM-271) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and then was transferred to the North Pacific Ocean where she trained a Russian crew and then “loaned” the ship to the Soviet Union under terms of the Lend Lease Act.

"Penetrate" was laid down by the Gulf Shipbuilding; Corp., Chickasaw, Alabama, 5 January 1943; launched 11 September 1943; sponsored by Miss Frances M. Moyer, and commissioned 31 March 1944, Lt. M. S. Lazaron, Jr., in command.

World War II Atlantic operations

On 14 April 1944 "Penetrate" stood down river to the Gulf of Mexico whence she sailed for the U.S. East Coast and shakedown in Chesapeake Bay. By late May she was undergoing training in Casco Bay, and, on 1 June, she steamed north to Argentia, Newfoundland. where she was converted to a weather patrol vessel. For the next six months she patrolled between Greenland and Canada to track and record changes in the polar maritime air masses affecting the European battlefronts and the transatlantic air routes. In early January 1945, "Penetrate's" meteorological instruments were removed and minesweeping gear was reinstalled. On the 31st she headed south to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving 7 February for an abbreviated overhaul prior to transfer under Lend Lease to the Soviet Union.

Transfer to the Pacific Fleet

"Penetrate" sailed, 27 February, for the Panama Canal en route to the transfer point: Cold Bay, Alaska. She arrived 15 April and for the next month trained the Soviet crew.

Transferred to the Soviet Union

The Soviet Navy assumed responsibility for the minesweeper following "Penetrate's" decommissioning and formal transfer 21 May 1945. Neither returned to the United States nor purchased, "Penetrate" was redesignated MSF-271 on 7 February 1955 and continued to be carried on the Navy List into 1970. Her fate is unknown.

References

See also

* List of United States Navy ships
* World War II
* Patrol boat
* Minelayer
* Minesweeper

External links

*cite web | accessdate= 2008-02-18
url= http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p4/penetrate.htm
title= "Penetrate"
work= DANFS
publisher= U.S. Naval Historical Center
*cite web | accessdate= 2008-02-18
url= http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/02271.htm
title= "Penetrate"
work= Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive | publisher= NavSource Online