Specifications:

Click on thumbnail for full size image	Size	Image Description		Source
USS Quail (Minesweeper No. 15)
	132k	Namesake: Quail - A migratory game bird		Tommy Trampp
	267k	Photo from "Sweeping the North Sea Mine Barrage" by the U.S. Navy North Sea Minesweeping Detachment		Joe Radigan
	118k	Review of the Atlantic Fleet Minesweeping Squadron, November 1919. Ships of the squadron anchored in the Hudson River, off New York City, while being reviewed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on 24 November 1919, following their return to the United States after taking part in clearing the North Sea mine barrage. Identifiable ships present include (left column, from front to rear): Turkey (Minesweeper No. 13); Quail with SC-354 alongside; USS Lark (Minesweeper No. 21) with SC-208 alongside; Swan (Minesweeper No. 34) with SC-356 alongside; and USS Flamingo (Minesweeper No. 32) with an unidentified submarine chaser alongside. (right column, from front to rear): USS Thrush (Minesweeper No. 18); Two unidentified minesweepers, one of which is probably Lapwing (Minesweeper No. 1); USS Kingfisher (Minesweeper No. 25); and, in no particular order, tugs Patapsco and Patuxent. USS SC-245 is at the far right, passing between the two anchored columns U.S. Navy photo NH 44904		Naval Historical Center
USS Quail (AM 15)
	44k			Vicky Viray
	92k	Six "O" type submarines nested alongside a pier, in the Central American or Caribbean area, circa 1923-1924. USS O-6 (SS-67) and USS O-9 (SS-70) are the two outboard submarines. Quail is also alongside the pier, in the left background Courtesy of the Estate of Virginia Cornwell, 1982 U.S. Navy photo NH 93672		Navy Historical Center
	90k	Alongside the Coast Battleship No. 4 (IX 6) (ex-USS Iowa [BB 4]), circa 1924 Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 77309		Robert Hurst
	44k	USS Galveston (CL-19) with Quail. Probably at Corinto, Nicaragua, in December 1926 -- February 1927, during the Nicaraguan revolution. Collection of John Spector, donated by Mrs. Minnie Spector, 1986 U.S. Navy photo NH 101153		Navy Historical Center
	529k	c. 1930 Alaskan waters		Darryl Baker Photo added 18 March 2022
	321k	c. 1933-1934 French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands A Loening OL-8 observation aircraft from Utility Squadron SIX (VJ 6) prepares to hook on to Quail's crane Photo courtesy of the National Naval Aviation Museum		Bill Gonyo
	332k	c. 1933-1934 With OL-8 observation aircraft on her stern		Darryl Baker Photo added 18 March 2022
	99k	U.S. Navy photo from the January 1986 edition of All Hands magazine		Joe Radigan
	54k	17 September 1940 Palmyra Atoll Under tow		Jesse Johnson
	40k	17 September 1940 Palmyra Atoll In the lagoon
	33k
	28k	17 September 1940 Palmyra Atoll Leaving through the channel
	208k	Ship's 36-foot motor launch, in which 18 men of her crew sailed from Manila Bay to Darwin, Australia, to escape the Japanese, May-June 1942 Courtesy of Rear Admiral John H. Morrill II, USN (Ret.) Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 96691		Mike Green
	1551k	Eighteen members of the crew of the scuttled U.S. Navy minesweeper USS Quail (AM-15) at Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, in June 1942. With the outbreak of war with Japan, Quail was in the Philippines. During the defense of Corregidor, she swept a channel providing access to South Harbor, Corregidor. Her crew then went ashore to aid in the defense of that island. Damaged by enemy bombs and guns, Quail was scuttled 5 May 1942 by U.S. forces to prevent her capture. Part of her crew, Lt. Cmdr. John H. Morrill and 17 others, escaped to Darwin, Australia, arriving on 7 June 1942 after covering 3540 km. Standing from left to right are E. Watkins, L. Bercier, B. Richardson, R. Rankin, R. Newquist, Watertender First Class Jack Forest Meeker, Jr., USN (Awarded the Silver Star); J. Stringer, Chief Machinist's Mate Charles Ernest Weinmann, USN (Awarded the Silver Star) and H. Haley. Kneeling left to right are G. Swisher, R. Clarke, Chief Watertender Nicholas George Cucinello, USN (Awarded the Silver Star); G. Head, LCDR John Henry Morrill, USN (Awarded the Navy Cross); Gunner Donald C. Taylor, USN (Awarded the Navy Cross); Chief Machinist's Mate James Howard Steele, USN (Awarded the Silver Star); P. Binkley, and E. Wolslegel. Two weeks later, 13 of the men were back in the Pacific, fighting the Japanese from the destroyers of Commander Squadron 4. Morrill, Gunner Taylor, and the remaining three men were transferred to duty stations in the United States. Binkley was killed in action, and another crewman died before the war ended. Fourteen of the crew retired with 20 or more years in the U.S. Navy Photo from the January 1986 edition of All Hands magazine		All Hands Magazine Photo added 26 December 2020
	321k	Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, pins the Silver Star medal on Machinist N. G. Cucinello, USN, during the commissioning ceremonies of USS Iowa (BB-61), 22 February 1943, New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York. Machinist Cucinello, a member of the Iowa crew, was awarded the Silver Star for his heroism in scuttling USS Quail (AM 15) at the time of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines U.S. Navy photo NH 70073 CITATION: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Chief Watertender Nicholas George Cucinello, United States Navy, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving on board the U.S.S. Quail (AM-15), after that vessel was ordered scuttled in the Philippine Islands on 6 May 1942. After it became apparent that the fall of Corregidor was imminent, Chief Watertender Cucinello volunteered with others to assist their commanding officer in performing this task, left the shelter of Fort Hughes and raced through exposed areas of the Fort Hughes dock while that place was under heavy artillery barrage. Upon their arrival at the dock they found their ship's small boat sunk and, accordingly, had to swim 200 yards to another boat anchored at the dock. While in the water Chief Watertender Cucinello and his comrades swam through Japanese artillery fire and numerous airplane strafing attacks, but reached the small boat nevertheless. He then proceeded with his comrades to the QUAIL, continuing to dodge artillery and airplane machine gun fire en route, until the minesweeper was reached and scuttled. By his great effort, Chief Watertender Cucinello materially assisted in accomplishing this difficult and dangerous task. His conduct throughout reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service		Naval History and Heritage Command

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Commanding Officers
01	LT Robert Rohange, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1919) Retired as Lieutenant	29 April 1919
02	Chief Boatswain George Oliver Augustine, USN	30 June 1920
03	ENS Charles Lucas, USN	20 June 1921
04	LT Elwood Wilkes Andrews, USN	20 June 1921 @1300
05	Chief Boatswain Birney Osro Halliwill, USN	30 December 1921
06	LCDR David Allen Weaver, USN	30 September 1922
07	LT Albert Osenger, USN	6 October 1923
08	CAPT Amon Bronson, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 1896	10 December 1923 - 5 April 1924
09	LT Hartie Hiram Brown, USN	5 April 1924
10	CAPT Earl Kenneth Wortman, USN	10 July 1925
11	LT Herbert Russell Mytinger, USN	28 September 1929
12	LT John James Patterson, III, USN	2 July 1931
13	LT Louis Frederick Teuscher, USN	25 June 1932
14	LT Henry Theodore Wray, USN	25 March 1935
15	LT Van Rensselaer Moore, USN	9 April 1935
16	LCDR John Henry Morrill, USN - USNA Class of 1924 Awarded the Navy Cross (1941) - Retired as Rear Admiral	27 May 1938 - 5 May 1942

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Joe Radigan

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View the Quail (AM 15)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway website

On the night of 5 May, as the Japanese bombarded Corregidor for their final invasion of the island fortress, Lieutenant Commander J. H. Morrill was standing on board what was left of his ship, the minesweeper Quail. He watched in awe as the Japanese pounded Corregidor with hundreds of cannons positioned on the coast directly opposite the island. What Morrill didn’t know while watching this spectacle was that he was standing on the last ship of the US Asiatic Fleet in Philippine waters. By 4:30 AM on 6 May, Morrill received a message from land that he was to place the rest of his men ashore at Fort Hughes, Caballo Island, to man the antiaircraft guns there. As more of Morrill’s crew left the ship to go to Fort Hughes, Japanese aircraft were bombarding Corregidor as well as Fort Hughes. However, during these air raids, the Japanese seemed to ignore the damaged Quail, perhaps thinking that the sinking minesweeper wasn’t worth bombing. By 10:30 AM Morrill received his last order from headquarters on Corregidor instructing him to scuttle his ship.

Lieutenant Commander Morrill went ashore at Fort Hughes and found some men to help him scuttle Quail. But when they were ready to board the ship’s boat to return to the minesweeper, a shell sank their small boat. Morrill and four men swam 200 yards to another small boat moored near the dock and, while under enemy fire from circling Japanese warplanes, somehow managed to return to Quail. Morrill and his men made it back to the minesweeper and they scuttled the ship.

After Quail was gone, Morrill and his men took their boat, a 36-foot naval motor launch, and went to the deserted tug Ranger that was beached nearby on Caballo Island. Once there, Morrill decided that he was not going to surrender to the Japanese and that he and his men were going to escape. They searched Ranger for clothes, guns, ammunition and, most important, diesel fuel for their motor launch. They found about 450 gallons of diesel fuel on board the beached tug and stowed it in their boat. That night, Morrill went to Fort Hughes and asked the surviving members of Quail’s crew if they wanted to join him on his journey. He had a pocket watch, some diesel fuel, a few small-scale charts of the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies, and a little food and water. He proposed that they board the 36-foot motor launch and try to make it to Australia. Some of the crewmembers were just too exhausted to even contemplate such a journey, but 17 men decided to join Morrill and take their chances with the sea rather than surrender to the Japanese.

At 10:15 on the evening of 6 May 1942, Lieutenant Commander J. H. Morrill and 17 of Quail’s crewmembers set off on a remarkable journey south towards Australia. They initially traveled at night and hugged the coastline as their 36-foot motor launch plodded along at three knots. The men camouflaged the tiny vessel with green fronds and branches and painted it black so that it would look like a harmless native fishing boat. They avoided numerous Japanese aircraft, destroyers, minesweepers, and patrol boats as they continued southwards along the Philippine coastline. They stopped a few times along the coast of Luzon, where some kind Filipino villagers gave them food and water. By 13 May, they headed into the more open waters of the Sibuyan Sea and moved past the southwest end of Masbate Island in the central Philippines. They passed a Japanese tanker along the way, but the tanker ignored them, possibly thinking that they were either pirates or fishermen. They reached Cebu on May 15. On that same day they landed on the northwest coast of Leyte and bought some diesel oil and canned goods from a Chinese storekeeper. Morrill and his men also learned that the Japanese were on Leyte and that they were looking for Americans. Morrill and his crew left and continued south, headed for Surigao Strait between Leyte and Dinagat Islands.

On 17 May, the small group reached Tandag on northeastern Mindanao and obtained more supplies and fuel from another Chinese merchant. But the Japanese were making rapid advances throughout the Philippines and Morrill and his men managed to avoid enemy patrol boats that night by hiding in a secluded cove. On 18 May they left Port Lamon, where friendly Filipinos gave them more fuel. They continued their journey southward, eventually reaching Fisang Island north of Timor in the East Indies on 24 May.

The natives of the Dutch East Indies were not too helpful to the Americans and they would not take either American or Philippine currency. So the only way Morrill and his men could get any supplies was through trading what few valuable belongings they had for some desperately needed fuel oil and food. The small boat left Fisang but was only able to make it to the island of Keor, in the easternmost part of the Dutch East Indies, before their small engine gave out. The people on Keor didn’t seem any friendlier, but the Americans had to stay to repair their engine. The engine had to work well because they were about to leave on the last part of their journey across a large distance of open ocean for Australia. So they beached the boat and the men of the Quail replaced a burned-out bearing with one carved out of hard wood and installed it. Remarkably, it worked.

Morrill and his men left Keor and continued their journey south to Australia. On 4 June 1942, this small band of Americans reached Melville Island just north of Darwin, Australia, where they met some friendly Australian missionaries. They obtained food and water from the missionaries and the next day they left Melville and, with no fanfare and no recognition, slowly made their way into Darwin harbor. They tied up their boat and, once on shore, tried to report to any Americans in the harbor. All they found were a few American officers with an Army Air Force unit.

After 29 days and traveling 2,060 miles in a 36-foot motor launch, Lieutenant Commander J. H. Morrill brought his 17 men from the Quail to safety. They went from Corregidor to Darwin with no sextant, no decent charts, and only a pocket watch as a chronometer. Lieutenant Commander Morrill received the Navy Cross and was eventually promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.

Although the Quail was lost, some of its crew decided that surrendering to the Japanese on Corregidor was not an option. Even though the odds against them were enormous, these incredibly brave men in their small boat managed to avoid Japanese aircraft and warships while, at the same time, battling the sea as well as the weather. But like so many of the men in the old U.S. Asiatic Fleet, they simply refused to give up. It was a remarkable achievement by a group of sailors who were determined to get back home so that they could live to fight another day.