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USS Lapwing (AM-1)

1918 WORLD WAR 1 WORLD WAR 2

History of the American Aircraft Carrier (AM-1)

By 1917, the U.S. Navy was using dhows and tugboats to locate and destroy enemy mines in ports and on the high seas. As U.S. ships move closer to foreign shores, a specialized vessel is required to locate and clear these mines from all important sea lanes.

The USS Lapwing (AM-1) is the lead ship in her minesweeper class, the first minesweeper in U.S. Navy history. The class is named after the bird, the mallard, a slow and flying pterosaur that appears to exhibit uneven wing beats.

The Navy has built 49 of these ships for global use, and its namesake bird is abundant in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Lapwing was laid at Todd Dockyard in New York in October 1917 and commissioned on June 12, 1918 under the command of Lieutenant William Frahm (Junior).

The Navy believed that these ships could double the training role, so junior officers were stationed to command them.

Minesweeper 1 USS Lapwing sets sail with her new crew for normal sea trials. These tests are required not only to check the maneuverability of the ship, but also to develop new mine clearance exercises for the Navy.

On September 26, 1918, Lapwing left New London, Connecticut, for Europe after escorting a convoy to Halifax. Between June and September 1919, the USS Lapwing, assigned to demining in the North Sea, removed approximately 2,160 war mines from British waters.

During the First World War, the British and Germans exploited such sea routes in the North Sea and throughout the English Channel. All the while, my three main uses: offense, defense, and psychology. Assault mines are dropped into enemy waters, just outside valuable ports and in shipping lanes, to sink unsuspecting ships.

Defensive minefields can accumulate at strategic locations and are used to protect the coast from enemy ships and submarines. Minefields also have inherent psychological effects and can also be placed in enemy waterways.

A few mines on a major route can delay enemy supply convoys for hours or days until the entire area is swept and cleared by minesweepers.

Minesweepers of that period were only equipped with mechanical removal devices for detonating "contact mines". The earliest mines were usually contact mines - cheap alternatives to any other anti-ship weapons at the time. Contact mines must be very close to the metal target to detonate, limiting their damage to the immediate area and usually affecting only the single ship that detonates. The first detonator used contained a vial filled with sulfuric acid surrounded by a mixture of potassium perchlorate and sugar. When the vial was crushed, the acid ignited a flame, which in turn ignited the gunpowder on board and caused a spectacular local explosion.

The Hertz Horn Mine was invented in the early 1870s. These mines can remain active at sea for years after they are laid. The top half of the lead is fitted with hollow lead tips, each about 10 inches long, and holds a glass ampoule filled with sulfuric acid. When the lightning struck the ship's hull, it crushed the metal-tipped "horn", bursting the vial inside, releasing acid. The acid would be vented through the pipes into the lead-acid battery, which would then energize, creating a rapid electrical spark that would cause an explosion and explosion.

Many early mines were very fragile and unstable, making them very dangerous to handle. Their glass jars are filled with nitro or mechanical devices that activate when tipped. It was dangerous work anyway, and many minelaying ships were destroyed when their own live mine cargo exploded.

Submarines can go to the bottom of the sea at any depth, so "antenna mines" were invented to counter them. This particular mine has a copper wire attached to a buoy hovering above the mine. The top and bottom of the cables that connect the mine to the weight on the seabed are also made of copper.

When the steel hull of a submarine touches the copper wire, the slight voltage created by the contact between the two dissimilar metals creates the charge that detonates the mine.

The mechanical sweeper becomes a device designed to cut the mooring cable of the mooring mine and tow it behind the mine sweeper. They used a drag body called an Oropesa buoy, attached to a dragon viper, to keep the sweep at the desired depth and location.

Contact sweeps use wires pulled by one or two ships in the water to cut the mooring lines of floating mines, or provide distance sweeps that mimic ships to deliberately detonate such mines. Each run was between a hundred and two hundred yards, and the boat had to move consciously and slowly in a straight line. When a contact sweep hits a mine, the swept wire rubs against the mooring line until it cuts completely.

Occasionally, minesweepers tow explosive devices to cut electrical wires in mines and to reduce strain on mine lines. The severed mines are then blown up, usually with a blast from a 3-inch deck gun.

After World War I, Lapwing returned to the United States, and after normal repairs and some rebuilding, was sent to the West Coast, arriving in San Diego in October 1920. In January 1921, the U.S. Marines received orders to go to Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the U.S.

Marines conducted mine clearance operations in Hawaiian waters until she was decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on April 11, 1922.

The US Navy is now planning "Small Seaplane Providers" (AVPs), vessels that require a shallow draft and be able to support a squadron. These boats are cheaper to build or retrofit to other classes and can operate in shallow waters.

These ships also have hangars for storing and maintaining aircraft without the need for a flight deck. Added cranes to Lapwing to drop planes into the sea for takeoff and recover them after landing. Seaplanes can only operate in rough seas, and the boat must stop to take off or recover the plane, both actions that can take about 20 minutes.

Tender is usually stationed about ten miles ahead of the main battle fleet with the cruiser screen to provide protection while launching his aircraft. On September 1, 1932, the U.S. Marine Corps aircraft carrier was officially converted to a small seaplane tender.

USS Lapwing, commanded by Lieutenant R.J. Arnold, now has a new mission to serve and protect her seaplanes. The ship's dimensions have been changed to support new missions.

Increased aircraft cranes and auxiliary aircraft reserves (along with 80,000 gallons of jet fuel) increased her draft to 13 feet 1 inches, and the crew increased by seven pilots. Her new station, Coco Solo in the Canal District, opened in October 1932.

From 1933 to 1941, Lapwing participated in various exercises with her aircraft and helped develop the capabilities of the U.S. Naval Air Force and develop seaplane tendering roles for future conflicts.

USS Lapwing's involvement in the development of the tender mission on January 22, 1936 was so important that she was reclassified as a small seaplane tender on January 22, 1936. The USS Lapwing (AVP-1) operates primarily using seaplanes in the Panama Canal Zone, the West Coast and the Caribbean Sea, the latter in Trinidad, British West Indies.

During World War II, Kibbitz was assigned to the North Atlantic with 3rd Patrol Squadron. She left the Caribbean in February 1942 and arrived in Naxalsuk, Greenland, in May 1942. Until 1943, Lapwing operated patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions in the North Atlantic.

In June 1943, she was assigned another tour of the Caribbean, arriving in Key West to be used as a training ship. After 11 months at Fleet Sound School, Lapwing is tasked with continuing to develop tactics for airborne ASW technology. In August 1944, Lapwing's task force went to Recife, Brazil to search for enemy submarines.

The task force and seaplane tender returned to Key West in early September and conducted various training missions for the remainder of the war. On October 5, 1945, the Lapwing sailed for Charleston, South Carolina. There, she was officially decommissioned and removed from the Navy list on November 29, 1945. On August 19, 1946, the U.S. Shipping Administration (WSA) sold her to W. S. Sanders of Norfolk, Virginia, a World War II-era U.S. government emergency warfare agency responsible for purchasing and operating America's much-needed civilian shipping tonnage . America's war effort.

Her ultimate fate is unknown.