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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Skylark (AM 63)



Call sign:
Nan - Baker - Nan - Fox

Sunk 28 April 1945

Auk Class Minesweeper:

  • The first Skylark was laid down 9 July 1941 by the General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, CA
  • Launched 12 March 1942
  • Commissioned 25 November 1942
  • Struck two mines off Hagushi beaches, Okinawa 28 April 1945, sank, and struck from the Naval Register the same day.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 890 t.
  • Length 221' 2"
  • Beam 32' 2"
  • Draft 10' 9"
  • Speed 18.1 kts.
  • Complement 105
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, two 40mm gun mounts, eight 20mm guns, two depth charge tracks, and five depth charge projectors
  • Propulsion: Two 1,559shp ALCO 539 diesel electric engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image
    Size Image Description Source
    Skylark 41k Namesake: Skylark - A common, largely brown Old World lark noted for its song, especially as uttered in vertical flight Tommy Trampp
    Photo added 5 April 2020
    Skylark 173k U.S. Navy photo NH 89202 Naval History and Heritage Command

    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR Chester Arthur Kunz, USN25 November 1942
    02LCDR Roy Herbert Jones, USN21 June 1943 - 21 November 1943
    03LT George Madison Estep, USN - Awarded the Legion of Merit (1945)21 November 1943 - 28 April 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Joe Radigan

    View the Skylark (AM 63)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Minesweeper (AM) Photo Index

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