Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Teal (AVP 5)



Call sign:
Nan - Able - Peter - Nan

ex-AM-23
ex-Minesweeper No. 23



Call sign (1919):
George - Tare - Vice - Nan
Lapwing Class Minesweeper:

  • Laid down, 8 October 1917 by Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, PA
  • Launched 25 May 1918
  • Commissioned USS Teal, Minesweeper No.23, 20 August 1918
  • Designated AM-23, 17 February 1920
  • Modified to serve as an aircraft tender in November 1919
  • Reclassified as a Small Seaplane Tender, AVP-5, 22 January 1936
  • Decommissioned and struck from the Navy Register 5 December 1946 at Seattle, WA
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in January 1948 at Port Norland, WA and sold to Murray E. Baker
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 950 t.
    1936 - 1,350 t.
  • Length 187' 10"
  • Beam 35' 6'
  • Draft 9' 10"
    1936 - 13' 1"
  • Speed 14 kts.
    1936 - 13.5 kts.
  • Complement 78
    1936 - 85
  • Armament: Two 3" gun mounts and machine guns
    1936 - One 3"/50 dual Purpose mount
  • Propulsion: Two Babcock and Wilcox boilers, one triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, one shaft
    1936 - One 1,400shp Harlan and Hollingsworth Corp. 200psi saturated steam vertical triple expansion reciprocating engine.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Teal (AM 23)
    Teal 101k Inport with Gilmer (DD 233) in background.
    U. S. Navy photo from the Navy Recruitment Bureau, New York     		Jon Burdett
    Teal 50k Seen here tending seaplanes, c. December 1919 to 21 January 1936. Note old hull number (23).
    US Navy Photo     		Hazegray & Underway Web Site
    Teal 81k View of the Philadelphia Navy Yard's Delaware River waterfront, with the hammerhead crane in center, 31 May 1923. Among the ships visible are: USS Lamson (DD-328), in left center; USS Sandpiper (AM-51) and Teal (AM 23), at right, with the crane ship Kearsarge beyond; Destroyers Preston (DD-327), Coghlan (DD-326) and Sharkey (DD-281), partially visible at left. USS Dobbin (AD-3) is fitting out on the opposite side of the pier, at left.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 43453     		Naval Historical Center
    Teal 109k Teal or USS Sandpiper (AM-51), photographed using sails while serving as an aircraft tender circa 1925.
    U.S. Navy photos NH 50174 and NH 59926 from the Naval History and Heritage Command     		Robert Hurst
    USS Teal (AVP 5)
    Teal 161k Crew photo Craig Kulpa
    Teal 85k Teal off the Mare Island Navy Yard on 9 July 1942.
    National Archives photo 19-N-31394 from the Naval History and Heritage Command     		Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01LTJG Frederick Meyer, USN20 August 1918
    02LT Raymond Carlton McDuffie, USN30 November 1921
    03Chief Boatswain P. J. Kelly, USN 1923
    04LT Frederick John Legere, USN31 May 1927
    05LT James Francis McCarthy, USN11 August 1929
    06LT Lucian Ragonnet, USN - Retired as Rear Admiral1932
    07LT Angus Meade Cohan, USN1934
    08LT Edgar Allen Cruise, USN - Retired as Vice Admiral1936
    09LT Robert Burns Pirie, USNMay 1938 - November 1939
    10LT Henry Johnston McRoberts, USNNovember 1939
    11LCDR Albert Sidney Major, Jr., USNAugust 1942 - 1943
    12LT Reuben Jacobsen, USNR1 March 1943 - 13 November 1943
    13LTJG Merle Francis Parrott, USN13 November 1943 - December 1943
    14LTJG Robert Emanuael Noel, USNRDecember 1943 - 17 June 1944
    15LT Lawrence Howard Breland, USNR17 June 1944 - 23 November 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    View the Teal (AM-23)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Naval Minewarfare Association
    Association of Minemen
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Minesweeper (AM) Photo Index Back to the Auxiliary Ship Index Back to the Small SeaplaneTender (AVP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Joe Radigan
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History