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USS Dextrous (AM-341)
Encyclopedia
USS Dextrous (AM-341) was an acquired by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
The ship was laid down by the Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Alabama
Chickasaw, Alabama
Chickasaw is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. As of July 2007, the population was 5,979. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area.-Geography:Chickasaw is located at . According to the U.S...
as HMS Sepoy (BAM-30), renamed and reclassified USS Dextrous (AM-341), and launched on 17 June 1943; sponsored by Miss S. S. Kenney; and commissioned 8 September 1943, Lieutenant Commander S. S. Trotman in command.
World War II
Dextrous sailed from Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, 14 November 1943 as a convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
escort, arriving at Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, 3 January 1944. Ten days later she sailed for Naples, Italy, to sweep in the Gulf of Salerno
Gulf of Salerno
The Gulf of Salerno is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the touristic Costiera Amalfitana, including towns like Amalfi, Maiori, Positano and the city of Salerno itself.The Gulf of Salerno is separated...
. On 21 January she left Naples for the Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
-Nettuno
Nettuno
Nettuno is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, 60 kilometers south of Rome. It is named in honour of the Roman god Neptune...
beachhead where she swept mines prior to the assault the next day
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
, and patrolled and provided anti-aircraft fire during the bitter fighting ashore. Except for two voyages to Bizerte to replenish, Dextrous served off Anzio until 12 August 1944 when she sailed from Naples for pre-invasion minesweeping
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
off the southern coast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She swept and patrolled there until 1 October when she put in to Bizerte. Escorting a convoy of LSTs, she returned to Norfolk, Virginia, 11 December for overhaul.
Dextrous sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, 15 February 1945 for the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, arriving at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
18 March. She aided in the training of submarines in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
until 23 May, when she sailed west. After calling at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
to remove some experimental gear, she reached Okinawa on 14 July to join the minesweeping operations coordinated with the U.S. 3rd Fleet's final raids on Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
After the war Dextrous remained in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, clearing minefields in Japanese waters until 15 January 1946 when she sailed from Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
, Japan, for the U.S. West Coast. She arrived at San Pedro, California, 22 February and was placed out of commission in reserve 5 June 1946.
Korean War
Recommissioned 1 December 1950 for service in the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Dextrous made her first Far Eastern cruise from 3 March 1951 to 28 February 1952. She patrolled and swept on both coasts of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. Often under fire from shore batteries which hit her three times, Dextrous captured two sampans and five prisoners-of-war. She returned to Korean waters for similar duty from 1 December 1952 to 3 July 1953.
Post-war operations
Following the cease fire in Korea Dextrous made cruises to the western Pacific in 1954 and 1955-56 during which she patrolled off Korea, and participated in various exercises with the Fleet. Alternating with this duty were local exercises out of her home port at Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, and a cruise along the west coast to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, in the summer of 1955.
Dextrous was again placed out of commission in reserve on 31 October 1956. She was reclassified MSF-341, 7 February 1955. In December 1967 the ship was transferred to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
where she served as ROKS Koje (PCE-1003).
Awards
Dextrous received five battle stars for World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service and five for Korean War service.