USS Portent (AM-106)
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Name | USS Portent |
Builder | Pennsylvania Shipyards Inc., Beaumont, Texas |
Laid down | 15 November 1941 |
Launched | 16 August 1942 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Arthur L. Kline, Jr. |
Commissioned | 3 April 1943 |
Honors and awards | 1 Battle Star (World War II) |
Fate | Sunk by a mine off the Italian coast, 22 January 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Auk-class minesweeper |
Displacement | 890 long tons (900 t) |
Length | 221 ft 3 in (67.44 m) |
Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Draft | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
Speed | 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
Complement | 100 officers and enlisted |
Armament | 1 × 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 |
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.
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 , Inc., Beaumont, Texas, launched on 16 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Arthur L. Kline, Jr., and commissioned on 3 April 1943, Lieutenant Howard C. Plummer in command.
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 / 41.400°N 12.733°ECoordinates: 41°24′N 12°44′E / 41.400°N 12.733°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.
External links[]
- Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy
- Ships built in Port Arthur, Texas
- 1942 ships
- World War II minesweepers of the United States
- World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
- Maritime incidents in January 1944
- Ships sunk by mines