USS Auk (AM-57)
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | USS Auk |
| Builder | Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia |
| Laid down | 15 April 1941 |
| Launched | 26 August 1941 |
| Commissioned | 15 January 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1946 |
| Reclassified | MSF-57, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 August 1956 |
| Honours & awards | 3 battle stars (World War II) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Auk-class minesweeper |
| Displacement | 890 long tons (904 t) |
| Length | 221 ft 3 in (67.44 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 100 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
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_at_Norfolk_Navy_Yard_1941.JPG){kind=link}
USS Auk (AM-57) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Auk was named after the auk, a diving bird native to the colder climates of the northern hemisphere.
The second warship of the U.S. Navy to be named Auk, the ship was laid down on 15 April 1941 at Portsmouth, Virginia, by the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched on 26 August; sponsored by Miss Priscilla Alden Hague, the daughter of Commander Wesley M. Hague; and commissioned on 15 January 1942.