View source for USS Sanderling (AM-37)

{{short description|Minesweeper of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Sanderling}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1937}}
|Ship name=USS ''Sanderling''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship laid down=27 May 1918
|Ship launched=2 September 1918
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=4 December 1918, as Minesweeper No.37
|Ship decommissioned=2 May 1922
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=26 June 1937
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=AM-37, 17 July 1920
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Accidentally sunk, 26 June 1937
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Lapwing|minesweeper}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|840|LT|t|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|187|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|14|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=78
|Ship armament=2 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Sanderling'' (AM-37)''' was an {{sclass|Lapwing|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.

''Sanderling'', Minesweeper No. 37, was laid down on 27 May 1918 at the Tebo Yacht Basin by the Todd Shipbuilding Co., [[New York City]]; launched on 2 September 1918; and commissioned on 4 December 1918.

==World War I mine clearance==
Commissioned after the end of [[World War I]], ''Sanderling'' conducted exercises and performed miscellaneous towing operations out of [[Tompkinsville, New York]], through January and February 1919. In March, she proceeded to [[Boston, Massachusetts]], whence she sailed on 14 April for the [[Orkney Islands]] to join in the postwar sweeping operations to clear the [[North Sea]] for peacetime shipping.

On the 29th, the day she arrived at [[Kirkwall]], the first [[Minesweeper (ship)|sweeping]] operation in the American-laid fields began. Experimental in nature, that sweep disposed of only 221 mines and put hardly a dent in the barrage which had been stretched from [[Orkney]] to Norway to stop [[Kaiserliche Marine|German]] [[submarine]] traffic from going into the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The six following sweeps used different methods, improved equipment, and more ships — including ''Sanderling''. These modified operations proved to be more productive.

During the third operation, in June, ''Sanderling'' and {{USS|Heron|AM-10|2}}, operating together, located a sunken [[U-boat]]. The [[submarine]], probably {{Ship|SM|U-127||2}}, fouled their sweep gear, almost stopping the two ships, and sent oil to the surface. Sweeping operations were soon resumed and continued more "routinely," if hazardously, for ''Sanderling'' until the sixth operation in August and early September. [[Influenza]] struck the mine force as it worked the eastern end of the barrage. Soon thereafter, ''Sanderling'' was damaged by an upper level countermine. Repairs, however, were effected quickly, and the ship was ready to return to sea as the final clearance sweeps were conducted.

==Return to East Coast operations==
By 1 October, the [[North Sea Mine Barrage]], originally a concentration of over 70,000 British and American mines, had been swept; and ''Sanderling'' headed home. Moving south, then west, she returned to [[Tompkinsville, New York]] on 19 November. On the 25th, the [[North Sea Mine Force]] was disbanded, and ''Sanderling'' proceeded to [[Charleston, South Carolina]] for an extended overhaul.

==West Coast operations==
Designated AM-37 on 17 July 1920, she departed the [[South Carolina]] coast on 3 August; moved up to [[Norfolk, Virginia]]; and on the 31st sailed for [[California]]. She conducted exercises en route; arrived at [[San Diego, California]] on 28 October; and remained in Californian waters until January 1921. She then proceeded west, arriving on the 21st at her new home port, [[Pearl Harbor]].

==Deactivation and accidental sinking==
''Sanderling'' remained active only until 11 May, when she was placed in reduced commission. A year later, on 2 May 1922, she was decommissioned and berthed with the [[reserve fleet]] at Pearl Harbor. On 26 June 1937, while still in reserve, the minesweeper accidentally sank. Her name was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]], effective on the day of her loss.

==References==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s4/sanderling-i.htm}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|11/02037|USS Sanderling}}
*[http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5189.html uboat.net - USS ''Sanderling'']

{{Lapwing class minesweeper}}
{{1937 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderling (AM-37)}}
[[Category:Lapwing-class minesweepers]]
[[Category:Ships built in New York City]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1937]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:World War I minesweepers of the United States]]