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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Vireo (Minesweeper No. 52 / AM-52)
AT / AT(O)-144


Lapwing Class Minesweeper: Laid down, 20 November 1918 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA; Launched, 26 May 1919; Commissioned USS Vireo, Minesweeper No. 52, 16 October 1919; Reclassified AM 52, 17 July 1920; Reclassified as a Fleet Tug AT-144, 1 June 1942; Reclassified as a Fleet Tug, (Old) AT(O)-144, 15 May 1944; Decommissioned, 18 April 1946; Struck from the Naval Register, 8 May 1946; Transferred, 4 February 1947 to the Maritime Commission for disposal. Fate unknown.

Specifications: Displacement 840 t.; Length 187' 10"; Beam 35' 5"; Draft 8' 10"; Speed 14 kts; Complement 186; Armament two 3"/50s; Propulsion triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, two Babcock & Wilcox boilers, one shaft.


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Size Image Description Source
Vireo 54k U. S. Navy photo from the Navy Recruitment Bureau, New York Jon Burdett
Vireo 88k Anchored in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, January 1920.
USN photo NH 43603.
Naval Historical Center
Vireo/Rail 112k In harbor, March 1922. USS Rail (AM-26) is in the left background.
USN photo NH 50207.
Naval Historical Center
Vireo 161k In port, 1932.
USN photo NH 50320.
Naval Historical Center
Vireo 119k Ship's Officers and Crew, 1934. Note stockless anchor in the port bow hausepipe, fancy hull number, and ship's dog held by the Sailor at left.
Photographed by Vernon M. Haden, San Pedro California.
Donation of Ted Stone, 1977.
USN photo NH 85837
.
Naval Historical Center
Crew Photo 109k Signalman August Billig, fourth from left, second row, c. 1936. Bruce Billig
Bobolink/Vireo 69k Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. View of USS West Virginia
(BB 48)
, taken a day or two after the Japanese raid. USS Bobolink
(AM 20),
at left, Vireo and YW-10 are off the battleship's stern, assisting with efforts to keep her afloat.
From the collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN, Ret.
USN Photo NH 95569
.
Naval Historical Center
Vireo 175k Battle of Midway, June 1942 Diorama by Norman Bel Geddes, depicting the explosion of depth charges from USS Hammann (DD-412) as she sank alongside USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the afternoon of 6 June 1942. Both ships were torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 while Hammann was assisting with the salvage of Yorktown. Vireo is shown at left, coming back to pick up survivors, as destroyers head off to search for the submarine. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
USN photo 80-G-701902.
Naval Historical Center
Vireo 105k Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943 USS Honolulu (CL-48) in Tulagi Harbor, Solomon Islands, for temporary repair of damage received when she was torpedoed in the bow during the Battle of Kolombangara. Vireo is assisting the damaged cruiser. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
USN photo 80-G-259446.
Naval Historical Center
Vireo 60k Vireo at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, following repairs and overhaul, 20 August 1942. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
USN photo 19-N-34748.
Naval Historical Center

View the Vireo (AM 52)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway web site, the main archive for the DANFS Online Project.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
Naval Minewarfare Association
Association of Minemen
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Type Index Back to the Minesweeper (AM) Photo Index Back to the Auxiliary Ship Index Back to the Fleet Ocean Tug (AT) Photo IndexBack to the Fleet Ocean Tug (Old) (AT[O]) Photo Index

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