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18-686: USS Robin (AM-3) was an Lapwing -class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. Robin was named, by the U.S. Navy for the American Robin ( Turdus migratorius ), a North American thrush with a red breast. Robin (Minesweeper No. 3) was laid down 4 March 1918 by the Todd Shipyard Corp. , New York; launched 17 June 1918; sponsored by Miss Bessie Veronica Callaghan; and commissioned 29 August 1918. Commissioned at New York, Robin operated in

36-464: A 1,400shp Harlan and Hollingsworth triple expansion reciprocating steam engine. The table makes no distinction between classification as "Minesweeper No. X" and "AM-X". This change affected all boats equally ca. 1920. All boats reclassified as Fleet Tugs (AT) where later again reclassified as Fleet Tug, Old (ATO) (ca. 1944). The table treats them the same. Brant and Grebe were never reclassified as ATO. Minesweeper The earliest known usage of

54-452: Is soundproofed to reduce its acoustic signature and often constructed using wood, fiberglass , or non-ferrous metal , or is degaussed to reduce its magnetic signature . Mechanical sweeps are devices designed to cut the anchoring cables of moored mines, and preferably attach a tag to help the subsequent localization and neutralization. They are towed behind the minesweeper and use a towed body (e.g., oropesa , paravane ) to maintain

72-494: Is unavailable, the TSM sweeping instead reproduces the influence of the friendly ship that is about to transit the area. TSM sweeping thus clears mines directed at this ship without knowledge of the mines. However, mines directed at other ships might remain. The minesweeper differs from a minehunter ; the minehunter actively detects and neutralizes individual mines. Minesweepers are in many cases complementary to minehunters, depending on

90-636: The Ellice Islands and Fiji Islands as well as among the Samoan group. Then, from January to March 1945, she operated among the Marshalls and Gilberts . On 21 March, Robin departed Majuro for the United States. She arrived at San Diego, California 21 April and two days later shifted to Long Beach, California , for overhaul. Still in the shipyard at the end of the war, she was designated for disposal. She

108-548: The English Channel clear of mines. A Trawler Section of the Royal Navy Reserve became the predecessor of the mine sweeping forces with specially designed ships and equipment to follow. These reserve Trawler Section fishermen and their trawlers were activated, supplied with mine gear, rifles, and uniforms, and paid as the first minesweepers. The dedicated, purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during World War I with

126-549: The Flower-class minesweeping sloop . By the end of the War, naval mine technology had grown beyond the ability of minesweepers to detect and remove mines. Minesweeping made significant advancements during World War II . Combatant nations quickly adapted ships to the task of minesweeping, including Australia's 35 civilian ships that became auxiliary minesweepers . Both Allied and Axis countries made heavy use of minesweepers throughout

144-481: The U.S. Navy had four minesweepers deployed to the Persian Gulf to address regional instabilities. The Royal Navy also has four minesweepers stationed in the Persian Gulf as part of the 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron . Minesweepers are equipped with mechanical or electrical devices, known as "sweeps", for disabling mines. The modern minesweeper is designed to reduce the chances of it detonating mines itself; it

162-622: The naval mine dates to the Ming dynasty . Dedicated minesweepers, however, only appeared many centuries later during the Crimean War , when they were deployed by the British. The Crimean War minesweepers were rowboats trailing grapnels to snag mines. Minesweeping technology picked up in the Russo-Japanese War , using aging torpedo boats as minesweepers. In Britain, naval leaders recognized before

180-513: The 20th, she arrived at Inverness and joined the North Sea Mining Detachment . Based at Kirkwall , she participated in the seven operations conducted to clear the barrage of its more than 70,000 mines between Orkney and Norway. With the conclusion of the final sweep, 19 September, Robin returned to Kirkwall for a brief rest after the difficult assignment, made more hazardous by the strong winds, rough seas, and poor visibility of

198-559: The North Sea. She departed Scotland 1 October and arrived at New York 19 November. Designated AM-3 , 17 July 1920, she operated along the U.S. East Coast for the next 11 years, with winter deployments to the Caribbean . After winter maneuvers in 1932, she continued on to the U.S. West Coast and from her arrival, 6 March, until 9 April 1934 she operated in the San Pedro -San Diego area. During

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216-590: The area, with one run to Hampton Roads, Virginia , until 23 February 1919. By that time the necessity of improving sweeping methods to expedite the clearing of the North Sea Mine Barrage had become very apparent. Robin , with two other minesweepers, tested the feasibility of using sweeps of greater breadth than 500–600 yards. The tests were conducted off Newport, Rhode Island , in late February and early March. In mid-March, Robin proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts. On 6 April, she got underway for Scotland. On

234-561: The grounded SS  President Taylor at Canton Island . In February, she shifted to small craft and target towing, torpedo retrieving, and passenger and cargo transportation duties. On 1 June 1942, she was officially redesignated as Ocean Tug AT-140 . In June 1943, after an extensive overhaul, she joined a convoy for Samoa . She arrived on the 10th and reported for duty as station vessel, Naval Station, Tutuila . Reclassified ATO-140 on 13 April 1944, she operated out of Tutuila until 1945 on towing and salvage assignments which took her to

252-432: The outbreak of World War I that the development of sea mines was a threat to the nation's shipping and began efforts to counter the threat. Sir Arthur Wilson noted the real threat of the time was a blockade aided by mines and not an invasion. The function of the fishing fleet's trawlers with their trawl gear was recognized as having a natural connection with mine clearance and, among other things, trawlers were used to keep

270-530: The summer, 1934, she returned to Norfolk, Virginia , but by the end of November was back at San Diego. She remained on the west coast, ranging from Mexico to Alaska and as far west as Hawaii, for the remainder of the decade. On 7 December 1941 Robin was en route to Hawaii from Johnston Island . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 10th and until the end of February 1942 served as a salvage and minesweeping vessel. By 24 February Robin had been sent towing one large and three small lighters to assist in unloading

288-452: The sweep at the desired depth and position. Influence sweeps are equipment, often towed, that emulate a particular ship signature, thereby causing a mine to detonate. There are two modes of operating an influence sweep: MSM (mine setting mode) and TSM (target simulation mode or target setting mode). MSM sweeping is founded on intelligence on a given type of mine, and produces the output required for detonation of this mine. If such intelligence

306-742: The war. Historian Gordon Williamson wrote that "Germany's minesweepers alone formed a massive proportion of its total strength, and are very much the unsung heroes of the Kriegsmarine ." Naval mines remained a threat even after the war ended, and minesweeping crews were still active after VJ Day . After the Second World War, Allied countries worked on new classes of minesweepers ranging from 120-ton designs for clearing estuaries to 735-ton oceangoing vessels. The United States Navy even used specialized mechanized landing craft to sweep shallow harbors in and around North Korea . As of June 2012 ,

324-706: Was decommissioned 9 November and struck from the Navy list on the 28th. Lapwing-class minesweeper The Lapwing -class minesweeper , often called the Bird class , was an early "AM-type" oceangoing minesweeper of the United States Navy . Seven ships of the class were commissioned during World War I , and served well into the 1950s. A number were refitted to serve as ocean-going tugs , salvage vessels , seaplane tenders , or submarine rescue ships . The propulsion system consisted of 2 Babcock & Wilcox 200psi boilers and

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