USS YMS 328

YMS 328 was built by the Ballard Marine Railway in Ballard, Washington (Seattle) as a Yard Mine Sweeper (YMS) class vessel. She was classified as a Mark II design.

In all, 561 wooden-hulled minesweepers were built in at least 35 boatyards. All were of essentially the same design - 136 feet long, with a speed of 13 knots - but the Mk. I YMS had two stacks, the Mk. II had one stack and the Mk. III had none.

150 of these boats were transferred directly from the boatbuilder to the Royal Navy. The first 80 of these had their own pennant numbers (BYMS 1 through 80, redesignated BYMS 2001 through 2080 by the British). The other 70 were transferred from the US Navy and given British pennant numbers 2000 greater than the U.S. number (e.g., YMS 162 became BYMS 2162). Another 30 boats were transferred to the Free French Navy in 1944 and 45 to the Soviet Union in 1945. After the war, many more were transferred or sold to allied navies. There is a shortage of information about what happened to these great boats, which played a major part in the war effort. It is easy to assume that most were scrapped after they were struck, but many are known to have had second and third careers, in a wide variety of roles.

YMS 328 was delivered on May 26 1943. She served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II, sweeping enemy mine fields at Attu and U.S. mine fields at Kiska, and patrolling out of Adak. She was en route to Dutch Harbor to be fitted for the invasion of Paramishiru Island in Japan. Then the bomb dropped, Japan surrendered, and the 328 returned to Bremerton, Wash. She was struck in 1946

YMS 328 was sold private in 1946, bought by John Wayne in 1965 and converted to the luxury yacht Wild Goose: now operated as a dinner cruise boat in Newport Beach CA by Hornblower cruises.

References

http://www.hornblower.com/yacht.asp?port=nb&id=63