USS Chickadee

Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	1942
Launched:	20 July 1942
Commissioned:	9 November 1943
Reclassified:	MSF-59, 7 February 1965
Decommissioned:	15 May 1946
Fate:	Transferred to Uruguay 18 August 1966
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	890 tons
Length:	221 ft 3 in (67 m)
Beam:	32 (10 m)
Draft:	10 ft 9 in (3 m)
Speed:	18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement:	100
Armament:	1 X 3 in 2 X 40mm 2 X 20mm 2 depth charge tracks

USS Chickadee (AM-59), an Auk class minesweeper, was named after the Chickadee, a family of small passerine birds which appear in North America and Africa.

Chickadee was launched on 20 July 1942 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan; sponsored by Mrs. G. B. Coale. She was commissioned on 9 November 1942, with Lieutenant Commander G. B. Coale, USNR, in command; and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.

Between 15 February and 4 May 1943, Chickadee voyaged from Norfolk, Virginia, to Casablanca on convoy escort duty, then participated in an anti-submarine search and escorted coastal convoys until 19 June. Chickadee sailed out of Norfolk and New York as an escort for vessels sailing to Iceland or the Caribbean between 7 July 1943 and 2 March 1944.

Chickadee cleared Charleston, South Carolina, on 7 April for Milford Haven, Wales, arriving there on 12 May. For the remainder of the month, the minesweeper engaged in training exercises for the coming invasion of Europe. Arriving off Normandy on 5 June 1944, Chickadee swept fire support channels into Baie de la Seine and throughout the various assault areas along the French coast in support of the Normandy Invasion. She performed her hazardous duties under enemy shore fire on several occasions, but escaped with only minor damage from shrapnel and no casualties. The ship assisted in the rescue of survivors from USS Osprey (AM-56) and LST 133, and towed the damaged LST-133 to safety.

Chickadee continued to operate off the coast of France, with frequent visits to British ports, until 1 August 1944 when she departed Plymouth, England, for Naples, Italy. After arriving in Italian waters on 12 August, she swept in Bonifacio Straits until 23 August when she sailed to Baie de la Cavalaire, France, for sweeping operations during the invasion of southern France. Between 29 August and 2 October, she swept the harbor of Marseilles, and conducted anti-submarine patrol off that port.

During October and November 1944, Chickadee carried out a visual search for mines south of Sanremo, Italy, temporarily becoming the flagship of COMINRON SEVEN. After a brief overhaul at Palermo, Sicily, she returned to sweeping duty throughout the Mediterranean, operating out of Cannes, Nice, Livorno, Palermo, Malta, and Corsica. On 31 May 1945, she cleared Oran, Algeria, for Norfolk, arriving there on 15 June.

After a lengthy overhaul, Chickadee sailed from Norfolk on 18 September 1945 for the Pacific, reaching San Pedro, California, on 10 October. On 26 November, she sailed for Astoria, Oregon, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 15 May 1946. Her classification was changed to MSF-59 on 7 February 1955. On 18 August 1966, she was transferred to Uruguayan Navy and renamed Comandante Pedro Campbell (A 24). She was finally struck from service and scrapped in 2005.

Chickadee received two battle stars for World War II service.

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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