USS Revenge (AM-110) was a World War II

World 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...

-era in the service of 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...

. It was the sixth United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 vessel named Revenge.

Revenge was laid down as Right on 19 June 1942 by Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company

Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company

Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard that operated from 1903 until 1959 on Bainbridge Island, Washington.The shipyard was built as an expansion of Hall Bros. Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company of Port Blakely, Washington, on near the village of Madrone, later renamed...

, 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...

; launched on 7 November 1942; renamed Revenge 15 May 1943; and commissioned on 21 July 1943, with Commander

Commander (United States)

In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...

 F. F. Sima in command.

Marshall and Gilbert Islands campaign

After outfitting at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Revenge underwent shakedown out of San Pedro and San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

. She departed on 13 October 1943 for further training 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...

, and on 10 November she set course for Makin Island

Makin Island

Makin Island may refer to:* Butaritari, an atoll in Kiribati* Makin * USS Makin Island...

, the Gilberts

Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...

, arriving two days later. After two days of minesweeping, she commenced anti-submarine patrol off Makin and Tarawa

Tarawa Atoll

Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...

.

Following Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 and training 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...

, Revenge sailed for Kwajalein Atoll and commenced minesweeping operations on 13 January 1944. For a brief period following the invasion, she alternated between antisubmarine patrol and harbor entrance control. From the end of February through mid-May, she was utilized as an escort vessel, travelling between the Marshalls

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

, the Gilberts and the Hawaiian Islands. She then returned to the west coast.

Philippines campaign

Upon completion of a short availability at Mare Island Navy Yard, Revenge again commenced escort duty out of Pearl Harbor. September brought the resumption of training exercises, this time at Hilo, after which she sailed for Manus, the Admiralties

Admiralty Islands

The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...

. On 11 October she headed for the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and the invasion of Leyte.

The weather was exceedingly rough and, the night before the initial sweep, 20 foot seas were running. In spite of the weather, Mine Division 13 (of which Revenge was a unit) entered Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...

 at daybreak with gear streamed. No navigational plots could be kept, nor could the ships remain on stations as the weather had reached typhoon intensity. No enemy action was observed, but activities were made hazardous by the abundance of floating mines and the difficulties involved in maneuvering the craft. Weather abated somewhat the next day and sweeping operations were earned out in a more normal fashion. After six days Revenge was credited with the destruction of nearly 70 mines.

Once the beachhead was secured and the anchorage made safe, the division continued clearance sweeps around Homonhon and Samar. On 27 November, and Revenge made an exploratory sweep on the western side of Leyte.

Revenge was scheduled to participate in the invasion of Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 early in January 1945, but, because of a damaged propeller shaft, she was ordered to Pearl Harbor for repairs. In February she was again assigned convoy duty, this time out of Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

, Western Carolines. Then, on 19 March she got underway with some 70 other minecraft for the invasion of Okinawa.

Okinawa invasion

No early difficulties were encountered off Okinawa by Revenge. She operated just off the invasion beaches, where strong tides caused some anxiety and these very tides caused to drift into unswept waters 28 March, where she struck a mine and sank. In the attendant rescue operations, Revenge cleared a path to one side of Skylark while cleared a path to the other. Rescue work was so efficient that only five men died in the stricken minesweeper, and they were killed in the initial explosion.

For 76 days Revenge remained on patrol off Okinawa. In March her gunners detected and sank a 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...

ese suicide boat as it attempted to run in under cover of darkness. Late in June relief was assigned and Revenge called 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...

 for two weeks of availability.

Post-war operations

In July Revenge returned to Okinawa, but soon departed with a small minesweeping group for the East China Sea

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

. Then, on 27 August, Revenge went alongside to take aboard a Japanese pilot for the sweep of Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

. The next morning Revenge led the group into Tokyo Bay. There was a fairly wide channel, and safe anchorages were quickly charted for the rest of the fleet. The minesweepers then shifted operations to the coastline. After a month of such operations and some additional time in Tokyo Bay, the minesweepers were ordered 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...

.

Operations out of Sasebo took Revenge and her sisters into the East China Sea and the Straits of Formosa. She spent Christmas of 1945 in Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, and in January 1946 returned Sasebo. In mid-January she sailed for San Pedro, California, and from there through the Panama Canal

Panama 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...

 for Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, for inactivation overhaul. Following inactivation on 18 March 1947 she was assigned to the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Orange, Texas

Orange, Texas

Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

.

Second commission, 1951–1955

Recommissioned on 14 February 1951 Revenge provided training services along the east coast as well as in the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

 and the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. Reclassified MSF-110 on 7 March 1955, she decommissioned two days later and was assigned to the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, at Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....

.

Decommissioning and sale

In 1961 Revenge was transferred to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Orange, Texas, where she remained until struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1966. She was sold for scrap in May 1967.

Revenge earned six battle stars during World War II

World 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...

.