USS Warbler (AM-53)

History
United States
Name	USS Warbler
Builder	Philadelphia Navy Yard
Laid down	24 April 1919
Launched	30 July 1919
Commissioned	22 December 1919, as Minesweeper No.53
Decommissioned	29 March 1946
Reclassified	AM-53, 17 July 1920; ARS-11, 13 September 1941;
Stricken	10 June 1947
Fate	Declared surplus, 13 January 1947
General characteristics
Class and type	Lapwing-class minesweeper
Displacement	950 long tons (965 t)
Length	187 ft 10 in (57.25 m)
Beam	35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Draft	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Propulsion	Triple expansion reciprocating steam engine; 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers; 1 shaft;
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	85
Armament	None

USS Warbler (AM-53) (Minesweeper No. 53) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper laid down on 24 April 1919 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched on 30 July 1919; sponsored by Miss Alice Kempff, the daughter of Capt. C. S. Kempff, the Captain of the Yard; and commissioned on 22 December 1919.

After brief service with the Train of the Atlantic Fleet, Warbler was decommissioned on 16 June 1920 and simultaneously transferred, on loan, to the United States Shipping Board. The ship operated with a civilian crew under the aegis of Merritt, Chapman, and Scott, a New York-based salvage firm. On 13 September 1941, the Navy reclassified Warbler a salvage vessel and designated her ARS-11

World War II operations

During World War II, she continued to operate with a civilian crew under a contract with the Naval Salvage Service. She was based at the Merritt, Chapman, and Scott salvage depot at Key West, Florida, and worked primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, towing disabled ships; assisting stranded or grounded vessels; escorting coastwise convoys; and conducting salvage operations.

End-of-War deactivation

After the war ended, the U.S. Navy designated Warbler for disposal on 29 March 1946 and declared her surplus on 13 January 1947. She was struck from the Navy list on 10 June 1947.