USS Road Runner (AMc-35)

USS Road Runner (AMc-35) was a coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS Road Runner drawing
History
United States
Ordered: as Treasure Island
Laid down: 1939
Launched: 1939
Acquired: 27 November 1940
In service: 2 June 1941
Out of service: 15 September 1944
Stricken: 14 October 1944
Fate: sold to her former owner on 5 February 1945
General characteristics
Displacement: 175 tons
Length: 81 ft 0 in (24.69 m)
Beam: 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)
Draught: 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m)
Speed: 9.0 knots
Complement: 16
Armament: two .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns

Road Runner was named after the bird of that name: a speedy, largely terrestrial bird of the cuckoo family, found from California to Mexico and eastward to Texas.

Road Runner was built in 1939 as Treasure Island, California, by Western Boat Building Co, Tacoma, Washington; acquired by the Navy on 27 November 1940 from Mr. August Felando of San Pedro, California; converted at South Coast Co., Newport Beach, California, and placed in service on 2 June 1941.

World War II service

Road Runner, a wooden coastal minesweeper, served her three-year, World War II career with the 11th Naval District and the Western Sea Frontier with a homeport of San Pedro and a home yard of Mare Island, California.

Her operations involved daily minesweeping out of San Pedro, sometimes running to Santa Catalina Island or south to San Diego.

Deactivation

Road Runner was taken out of service on 15 September 1944. She was struck from the Navy list on 14 October 1944, transferred to the War Shipping Administration on 5 February 1945, and sold to her former owner.

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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