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USS Pilot (AM-104)
Encyclopedia
USS Pilot (AM-104) 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.
Pilot, a U.S. Navy ocean-going minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
, and the second U.S. Navy ship to bear this name, was named after the word "pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
," which is defined as one employed to steer a vessel; a helmsman
Helmsman
A helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
.
Pilot was laid down by the Pennsylvania Shipyards Inc., Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, 27 October 1941; launched 5 July 1942; sponsored by Miss Jacqueline Perry; and commissioned 3 February 1943, Lt. Comdr. S. W. Wetmore, USNR, in command.
Atlantic Ocean operations
After sea trials, Pilot sailed 10 February via New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, and Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, for Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, 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....
, arriving 1 March. After training at the Naval Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, and in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, Pilot sailed 1 April with Task Group 68.2, made rendezvous with 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...
and the next day, set course for Port Royal Bay
Port Royal Bay
Port Royal Bay is located in the western end of Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda.-References:*...
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, arriving on the 4th. On 14 April Pilot screened another convoy headed to French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, arriving Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
on 29 April.
Pilot stood out again the same day en route to Admiralty Harbor, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, where she arrived the next day. On 3 May she sailed for Bermuda and on 6 May made two attacks on possible submarines. She arrived Norfolk, Virginia, 20 May.
On 12 June Pilot stood out from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
61 en route to the Mediterranean. When a French naval tanker of the convoy was torpedoed 22 June and sank stern first, Pilot rescued 111 survivors. The following day she transferred the passengers to .
Pilot arrived off Casablanca harbor 3 July. On the 5th, she got underway for Gibraltar to fuel, and the following day departed, escorting a convoy toward the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, arriving Norfolk, Virginia 24 July.
Mediterranean operations
On 5 August, Pilot stood out en route to the Mediterranean again. She arrived at Casablanca, French Morocco, 23 August and Mers-el-KebirMers-el-Kébir
Mers-el-Kébir is a port town in northwestern Algeria, located by the Mediterranean Sea near Oran, in the Oran Province.-History:Originally a Roman port, Mers-el-Kébir became an Almohad naval arsenal in the 12th century, fell under the rulers of Tlemcen in the 15th century, and eventually became a...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, 29 August where several more vessels joined her convoy. She sailed again on 1 September for Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. On 8 September Pilot was detached from escort duty and assigned mine-sweeping duties with seven other minesweepers, sweeping a channel off the Salerno beachhead
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
. After the beachhead had been established, Pilot patrolled the area. On 18 September her alert gunners shot down a German Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
fighter aircraft.
Pilot continued escort and training duties in the Mediterranean until she sailed up the northwest coast of Italy 21 January 1944, with five other fleet type minesweepers conducting sweep operations under cover of darkness. On 25 January when a mine sank YMS–30, Pilot picked up several survivors and four bodies while other ships also recovered members of the crew. On 26 January when a British LST, carrying the 83rd U.S. Army Chemical Battalion, sank, Pilot again rescued survivors.
On 29 January Pilot swept a new fire support area, despite fire from the beach. On 3 February, Pilot sailed for 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...
escorting . She returned to Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
on the 17th and sailed on for Naples the same day. The next day Pilot received orders to rendezvous with and escort her to 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...
, Italy in company with YMS–55. Unfortunately SS Samuel Ashe collided with Pilot and one man was killed. Later, Pilot was towed into port at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
for repairs.
Return to the US
Pilot sailed 7 March for Palermo, SicilySicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
; and, on 14 April, joined homebound convoy GUS 36 and arrived Norfolk, Virginia 2 May. After repairs and training at Little Creek, Virginia, until September, Pilot served for the remainder of the year as a mine sweeping school ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
.
Jan. 1st. 1953 while based in Charleston,SC. USS Pilot sailed on another Mediterranean cruise of aprox. six months stopping first in Oran then to Italy ,France, Grece. then returned to Charleston.
Pacific Ocean operations
Pilot set course for the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on 20 June 1945, and proceeded via San Pedro, California, to 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...
. On 3 September Pilot got underway via Eniwetok, Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, and Okinawa, to 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...
, Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, 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...
arriving on the 17th. On 26 October she set out en route to Kokuzan To, Japan escorting PGM–26. On the next day she was detached from escort duties to sweep an area at Me Shima until arriving at Kiirun, Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
25 November. She set out again on the 27th for Takao
Takao
Takao may refer to:* Mount Takao in Tokyo, Japan* Kaohsiung, Taiwan: The Taiwanese and Japanese name before administration of Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China...
, Formosa to sweep more mines. On 21 December Pilot sailed for Shanghai, China. In January 1946 Pilot returned to the United States and was placed out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947.
Final commission and sale
On 5 March 1952 she recommissioned for service on the U.S. West Coast. She decommissioned and reentered the Reserve FleetReserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
in October 1954. She was redesignated MSF-104 on 7 February 1955.
Pilot was struck from the Naval Register on 1 July 1972 and transferred to Mexico on 19 July.
Mexican Navy service
On 19 July 1972, the former Pilot was sold to the Mexican NavyMexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over...
as ARM Juan Aldama (C85). Employed as a patrol vessel, her pennant number was later changed to G18, and, in 1993, changed again to P116. By 2004, Juan Aldama had been retired from active service.