USS Phoebe (AMc-57) was a coastal 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
United States
NamePhoebe
Laid down5 December 1940
Launched1941
Acquired31 March 1941
Commissioned2 May 1941
In service1941
Out of service14 May 1956
RenamedWestern Explorer (1946)
Stricken8 January 1946
IdentificationOfficial Number: 251283
FateSold, 27 March 1946. Foundered off Socorro Island, Mexico, 14 May 1956.
General characteristics
Tonnage166 GRT
Displacement176 tons
Length94 ft (29 m)
Beam25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
Draught6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement17
Armamenttwo .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns

The first ship to be named Phoebe by the Navy, AMc–57 was laid down by the Western Boat Building Co., Tacoma, Washington, 5 December 1940; launched in 1941; purchased by the Navy 31 March 1941; and commissioned at Tacoma, Washington, 2 May 1941.

World War II service

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Phoebe served exclusively in the Northwestern Sea Frontier. In July 1943 she was tactical command ship for a group of four minesweepers that cleared a defensive minefield which had been planted in 1942 to protect Shagak Bay and Bay of Islands, Adak, Alaska. By 4 August, they had exploded more than 340 mines.

Phoebe continued operations as a danlayer in Alaskan waters throughout the remainder of World War II, having been assigned to the Alaskan Sea Frontier. She was ordered to proceed from Dutch Harbor to Seattle, Washington, 21 October 1945 and decommissioned there 17 December 1945.

She was struck from the Navy List 8 January 1946. Phoebe was delivered to the Maritime Commission which sold her to her builder, the Western Boat Building Co., 27 March 1946.

References

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  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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