USS Vigilance (AM-324) was an acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Vigilance was originally laid down for the Royal Navy under the lend-lease program as HMS Exploit (BAM-24) on 28 November 1942 at Seattle, Washington, by Associated Shipbuilders. However, the United States Navy decided to keep the ship and renamed her USS Vigilance (AM-324) on 23 January 1943. Launched on 5 April 1943, the minesweeper was commissioned at her builder's yard on 28 February 1944.
After fitting-out, radio direction finder calibration, sea trials, and minesweeping indoctrination, Vigilance departed Seattle, Washington on 21 March, bound for southern California for type training, shakedown, and training in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tactics.
World War II Pacific operations Escorting and PCS-1W, the new minesweeper departed San Diego, California on 4 May, bound for Hawaii. Upon her arrival at Pearl Harbor on 11 May, Vigilance delivered 111 bags of mail to the Fleet Post Office and, three days later, got underway with for the Marshall Islands. The two minesweepers screened , , and to Majuro which they reached on 25 May.
Vigilance departed Majuro at 0800 on the 26th to return to Hawaii, intercepted en route, and relieved of escorting that cargo ship for the remainder of the voyage to Oahu. After arriving at Pearl Harbor on 2 June, Vigilance underwent upkeep and maintenance before moving to Brown's Camp, Oahu, for experimental minesweeping evolutions which she conducted into mid-June.
On 14 June, Vigilance weighed anchor as part of the screen for convoy 4313-A, a group of three Navy cargo ships, three civilian merchantmen, and refrigerator ship . and joined Vigilance in escorting the convoy to Eniwetok where they arrived on 25 June.
During the second of two more round-trip runs from Pearl Harbor to the Marshalls, Vigilance suffered an engine casualty - a damaged exhaust manifold - that was beyond the capacity of the ship's force to handle. Accordingly, she went alongside at Eniwetok on 24 September for repairs.
Return to Hawaii for repairs Making port back at Pearl Harbor on 5 October, the ship underwent more repairs and maintenance work and tested minesweeping gear off Brown's Camp. After getting underway for the Marshalls again on 23 October, escorting , Vigilance twice picked up "doubtful" submarine contacts — on 24 and 28 October — and fired hedgehog patterns on both occasions. She made port at Eniwetok on 3 November but got underway for Guam two days later, escorting a convoy consisting of , , , , and .
The minesweeper subsequently performed local escort duty between Guam, Peleliu, and Ulithi, arriving at the latter on 14 November. She patrolled the approaches to Mugai channel, Ulithi, from the 17th through the 19th.
Attack on Japanese submarine Five minutes before sunrise on 20 November, while on patrol station number 4, Vigilance sighted a small wake broad on the starboard quarter. Southbound on her patrol, the minesweeper had swung wide to avoid fouling the screen of an outward-bound task group of three destroyers, a cruiser, and other vessels when she made the sighting. She then put over full right rudder and accelerated to full speed as her crew went to battle stations. With depth charges set on "shallow" the minecraft bent on speed to make an attack but, much to her chagrin, found that the wake had completely disappeared. In the midst of all the hulls and wakes created by the Saipan-bound task group, picking up the contact proved impossible.
Vigilance signaled the location of the wake to . Moments later, the cruiser in the convoy signaled that she sighted a periscope on her starboard quarter. arrived on the scene first and disposed of what proved to be a midget submarine by ramming and depth charges.
Incident with American TBF aircraft After that incident, Vigilance, aided by a pair of American Grumman TBF Avengers from VMTB-232, remained on patrol off the channel entrance. At 0031 on 21 November, another Avenger approached low from astern. Men in Vigilance thought that the aircraft might have been a new arrival, unfamiliar with their ship. The aircraft suddenly made a sharp bank and a wing-tip caught in the water and the plane cartwheeled into the sea about a half mile from Vigilance. The plane was immediately enveloped in flame; and, shortly thereafter, the aircraft's depth charges exploded.
To compound the confusion, a second Avenger arrived and, thinking the wreckage on the water was a surfaced submarine, strafed it. Vigilance launched her motor whaleboat at 0051 and picked up a survivor who had remained alive despite the crash, explosion, and machine-gun fire. Vigilance continued the search for other survivors but found none. At 0524, the minesweeper was ordered to transfer the wounded man to hospital facilities ashore.
Patrol and escort duties Aside from an occasional day or so of maintenance and upkeep, Vigilance patrolled off Ulithi's Mugai channel for the remainder of the year.
Following an escort mission to the Palaus from 5 to 11 January 1945, Vigilance returned to Ulithi on the 12th, only to find a full-scale antisubmarine alert in progress. She commenced patrolling station number 7 in company with before receiving orders to patrol off the Zowariyau and Piiriperiperi channels. Shifting to a retiring search in company with soon thereafter, Vigilance was relieved of this duty by and returned to Ulithi.
After local patrol operations off the Mugai channel, Vigilance performed local escort missions between Ulithi and Kossol Roads and from Kossol Roads to Seeadler Harbor, at Manus, in the Admiralties. For the latter part of February, the minesweeper served as submarine listening watch and harbor entrance patrol vessel at Kossol before she returned to Ulithi.
From 6 to 8 March, Vigilance lay alongside undergoing availability in preparation for the upcoming operation against the Ryūkyūs. Vigilance got underway for Nansei Shoto on 19 March and steamed in cruising formation with Mine Division (MinDiv) 11, on the starboard quarter of USS Terror.
Arriving in area V-l, about southwest of Okinawa, on 24 March, Vigilance and her sister minesweepers swept for moored mines until nightfall when they retired. She cut loose one moored mine on the 26th, three on the 27th, and one on the 28th. While performing these sweep operations, she served as MinRon 4 "destruction vessel", slated to destroy loose mines once they reached the surface. The ship sank several drifting floats and one moored mine with gunfire.
Attack on Vigilance by Japanese Vals and a Kate On the morning of the 28th, Vigilance's lookouts spotted a Japanese "Kate" torpedo bomber and two "Val" dive-bombers attacking; and her gunners — along with those of the other ships in the unit — opened fire and blasted the "Kate" into pieces. The ship thus chalked up her first "sure assist" in downing the plane.
The landings commenced on 1 April. During the first three days of the invasion, Vigilance screened the unloading transports off Hagushi beach. Then, after shifting to Kerama Retto for two days of logistics on 4 and 5 April, the minesweeper alternated between sweeping and screening operations for the ensuing week.
Vigilance comes to the aid of a DE under attack While Vigilance was patrolling five miles (8 km) south of Kerama Retto on the afternoon of the 12th, a "flash red" alert was announced, and the ship's lookouts soon noted the presence of many enemy planes — all out of gun range. Suddenly, at 1456, the minesweeper noted black smoke pouring from , a destroyer escort that had just been hit by a kamikaze while patrolling an adjacent sector. Vigilance altered course to close, accelerating to full speed as fire and rescue parties readied emergency fire-fighting and first aid equipment.
Meanwhile, Whitehurst circled, apparently out of control. Yet, when Vigilance caught up with the damaged ship and came alongside at 1530, the more serious fires on board the escort vessel had been controlled. Vigilance's fire fighting and damage control parties helped to extinguish the remaining blaze and made emergency repairs.
However, the minecraft's prompt and efficient rendering of first aid was an even greater contribution. By 1535, 23 of the most seriously injured men from the escort's ship's company — and one dead man — had been transferred to Vigilance and taken to the minesweeper's mess hall for treatment. The ship's doctor, several officers, and enlisted men administered blood plasma and dressed wounds. The immediate injection of plasma and the efficient handling of the wounded saved 21 of the 23 casualties brought on board the minesweeper.
After placing Signalman 2nd Class Thomas G. Barnes on board Whitehurst for temporary duty to handle the escort ship's communications - the destroyer escort's bridge force had been wiped out by the kamikaze - Vigilance proceeded to and transferred the wounded to that attack transport. At 1854, Vigilance resumed her screening station off Kerama Retto.
Vigilance shoots down a Val Vigilance remained on patrol off those islands over the ensuing days — days which seemed comparatively quiet. However, on the morning of the 16th, alert lookouts sighted two planes — a "Val" and a "Frances" — off the ship's port quarter. Lt. (jg.) N. B. Norman, the officer of the deck, immediately ordered the gun watches on the 20-millimeter and 40-millimeter guns to commence firing, there not being time to call the ship to general quarters. Vigilance's 20-millimeter guns commenced firing on the "Val" when it was slightly abaft the beam, and the enemy plane then turned toward the ship before reversing course and heading for . Eventually, the 20-millimeter fire from Vigilance scored; and the "Val" splashed some ahead of the destroyer.
Vigilance comes to the aid of an oiler under air attack Meanwhile, the minesweeper's starboard 40-millimeter mount took the "Frances" under fire. At a point above and from the port quarter of the nearby , the "Frances" executed a wing-over and dived for the oiler. Vigilance's Bofors continued firing until the plane was just above Taluga, at which point she ceased firing for fear of hitting the oiler. The "Frances" crashed Taluga's bow, administering a glancing blow to the ship and blew some of the oiler's crew overboard. Vigilance fished three Taluga sailors from the water, who all agreed with the minesweeper's observers that the ship's gunnery had proved accurate and effective in deflecting the suicide plane.
Vigilance strafed by Japanese Betty, shoots down a Jake For the remainder of April and the first few days of May, Vigilance screened the landing operations. On two more occasions - on 18 April and on the 28th — Vigilance took passing Japanese planes under fire. In the first instance, she claimed to have shot down a "Jill" — one of four planes that closed the ship at night. Another of the four planes — believed to be a "Betty" bomber — strafed the ship but caused no damage. In the second case, the minesweeper shot down a snooping "Jake" floatplane at 0130 on the 28th.
The minecraft's patrol duties in May were highlighted by two incidents. The first occurred on 4 May and the second on the 9th. In the first case, the ship was patrolling five miles (8 km) south of Kerama Retto about sunset. Five miles to the north, five Japanese suicide planes headed for . Combat air patrol (CAP) F4U Corsair fighters downed four, but the fifth crashed into the escort carrier at 1933. A burst of flame shot into the darkening skies; and soon the ship became a blazing inferno, ammunition and gasoline exploding at intervals and sending sheets of flame into the air to a height of what looked like hundreds of feet.
Vigilance comes to aid of Sangamon