USS Portent

USS Portent (AM-106) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

History
United States
NameUSS Portent
BuilderPennsylvania Shipyards Inc., Beaumont, Texas
Laid down15 November 1941
Launched16 August 1942
Sponsored byMrs. Arthur L. Kline, Jr.
Commissioned3 April 1943
Honors and
awards		1 Battle Star (World War II)
FateSunk by a mine off the Italian coast, 22 January 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeAuk-class minesweeper
Displacement890 long tons (900 t)
Length221 ft 3 in (67.44 m)
Beam32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Speed18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement100 officers and enlisted
Armament1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal dual purpose gun, 2 × 40 mm guns, 2 × 20 mm cannons, 2 × depth charge tracks, 2 × depth charge projectors

Portent — a metal-hulled minesweeper — was named after the word "portent", something that foreshadows a coming event. In this case, it was an appropriate name since the Portent struck a mine and was sunk not long after her commissioning.

Portent was laid down on 15 November 1941 by the Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont, Texas, launched on 16 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Arthur L. Kline, Jr., and commissioned on 3 April 1943.

North Atlantic World War II operations

Portent sailed via Algiers, Louisiana, and Key West, Florida, to New York City to join a convoy to Casablanca and various North African ports on 14 May 1943. From May–November, she escorted convoys between New York City and Casablanca, Morocco. Assigned to a convoy entering the Mediterranean, she anchored outside Oran, Algeria on 22 November.

Sunk off the Italian coast

Deployed to Italy, she arrived at Naples on 19 December. Assigned to the invasion of Anzio, Italy Portent struck a mine while patrolling near the Italian coast and sank at 41°24′N 12°44′E on 22 January 1944. Nearby ships rescued survivors.

Awards

Portent received one battle star for World War II service.

References

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.