USS Valor (AMc-108)

USS Valor (AMc-108) was an Accentor-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Valor.

History
United States
Name: USS Valor
Builder: Snow Shipyards, Inc.
Laid down: 27 May 1941
Launched: 8 November 1941
Commissioned: 24 March 1942
Fate: Accidentally rammed and sunk, 29 June 1944
Stricken: 14 October 1944
General characteristics
Class and type: Accentor-class minesweeper
Displacement: 303 long tons (308 t)
Length: 98 ft 5 in (30.00 m)
Beam: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Draft: 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Propulsion: 1 × Fairbanks-Morse 35F14 diesel engine, 450 bhp (336 kW), 1 shaft
Speed: 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 17 officers and enlisted men
Armament: 2 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns

Valor was laid down on 27 May 1941 at Rockland, Maine by the Snow Shipyards, Inc.; launched on 8 November 1941; co-sponsored by Misses Jane and Noreen Brannan; and placed in service on 24 March 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard.

Although records are sketchy and inconclusive, the coastal minesweeper appears to have operated in the waters of the 1st Naval District, primarily out of Boston, throughout her brief career. She also served for some time out of the Woods Hole Section Base.

She was attached to the Northern Group, Eastern Sea Frontier, at the time of her loss on 29 June 1944. Late that day, she was patrolling the southern approaches to the Cape Cod Canal, alert to the possible presence of enemy intruders on this highly traveled coastal route. Minutes before 22:00, as she patrolled north of Cuttyhunk Island in Buzzards Bay, Valor was struck by USS Richard W. Suesens. Within three minutes, the small ship sank in the shallow waters off Mishaum Point at the western entrance of Buzzard's Bay. The destroyer escort rescued seven survivors; but, although five other vessels joined in the search which continued until sunrise, the seven remaining men on board were never found. The following day, the survivors were transferred to facilities at the Naval Operating Base, Newport, Rhode Island.

Salvage operations began the day after the collision. On 14 October, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. In January 1945 her hull was sold to the Newport Shipyard, Inc.

See also

References
  • This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  • "Valor". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  • "Valor (AMc 108)". Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive. Retrieved 25 June 2007.

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