View source for USS Swerve (AM-121)

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

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Swerve (AM 121).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Swerve''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1944}}
|Ship name=USS ''Swerve''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[John H. Mathis & Company]], [[Camden, New Jersey]]
|Ship laid down=27 May 1942
|Ship launched=25 February 1943
|Ship sponsor=Ms. E. C. Draemel
|Ship commissioned=23 January 1944
|Ship decommissioned=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=22 August 1944
|Ship renamed=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=''We Should Have Swerved''
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=1 [[Service star|Battle Star]] (World War II)
|Ship fate=Sunk by striking a [[Naval mine|mine]], 9 July 1944
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Auk|minesweeper}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|890|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|221|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|18|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=105 officers and enlisted
|Ship armament=1 × [[3"/50-caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50 cal]] [[dual-purpose gun]], 2 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft gun]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Swerve'' (AM-121)''' was an {{sclass|Auk|minesweeper}} acquired by the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. She was launched in 1943 and commissioned early the next year.  ''Swerve'' saw service in the Mediterranean, and was sunk by a [[naval mine|mine]] in the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] in July 1944.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Swerve'' was the first U.S. Navy vessel so named. She was laid down on 27 May 1942 by [[John H. Mathis & Company]], [[Camden, New Jersey]]; launched on 25 February 1943; sponsored by Ms. E. C. Draemel; and commissioned on 23 January 1944.

''Swerve'' held sea trials from 1–14 February and sailed for [[Little Creek, Virginia]], on the 15th to begin her [[shakedown cruise]]. Most of March was spent in a post-shakedown availability and in training.

==Deployment==
On 29 March, as a member of Mine Division 18 ([[MinDiv]] 18), she sailed to [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. ''Swerve'' stood out of Charleston on 7 April as an escort for [[convoy]] CK-2 ''en route'' to [[Bermuda]]. The convoy arrived there on the 18th, and on 8 May sailed to the [[Azores]]. ''Swerve'' called at [[Gibraltar]] and proceeded to [[Naples|Naples, Italy]].

==Italian coast minesweeping==
The minesweeper sailed for [[Palermo]], [[Sicily]] on 20 May and arrived there the next day. She made a voyage to [[Bizerte]] and returned to Naples. The ship sailed for [[Anzio]] on 4 June, and arrived off the beach the next day.

''Swerve'' remained off Anzio from 5–18 June. The ship was under enemy air attacks on the 5th and 9th but was not damaged. On the 19th, she sailed to [[Malta]] – via Naples – for [[degaussing]]. Training exercises were held off [[Salerno]] from 22 June — 4 July. The next day, the minesweeper sailed for Anzio again.

==Sinking by sea mine==
''Swerve'' was sweeping mines off Anzio on 9 July when, at 13:00, she struck a mine. There was an underwater explosion under her [[Port (nautical)|port]] quarter, and three minutes later, she had a 10° [[List (watercraft)|list]] to port. The order was given to abandon ship at 13:07, and — one minute later — the port rail was under water. The ship continued turning slowly and sinking by the [[stern]]. Fifteen minutes after hitting the mine, ''Swerve''{{'}}s [[Bow (nautical)|bow]] was up with the stern resting on the bottom. An hour later, the ship sank from sight.

''Swerve'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 22 August 1944.

==Awards==
''Swerve'' received one [[Service star|battle star]] for her [[World War II]] service.

==References==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/swerve-i.html}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-121_Swerve.html Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 AM-121 USS ''Swerve'']
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/02121.htm Photo gallery] at navsource.org
*[http://www.uss-swerve.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426081427/http://www.uss-swerve.com/ |date=2012-04-26 }} uss-swerve.com, a site for veterans and families of the USS Swerve AM-121

{{Auk class minesweeper}}
{{July 1944 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Swerve (AM-121)}}
[[Category:Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built by John H. Mathis & Company]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II minesweepers of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1944]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by mines]]