USS Teal ( AM - 23 ) USS " Teal " ( AM - 23 / AVP - 5 ) was a acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . " Teal " was named after the teal , any of several small , short - necked , river ducks common to Europe and America . " Teal " ( Minesweeper No . 23 ) was laid down on 8 October 1917 at Chester , Pennsylvania , by the Sun Shipbuilding Co . ; launched on 25 May 1918 ; sponsored by Miss Agnes M . Haig ; and commissioned on 20 August 1918 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , Lt . ( jg . ) Frederick Meyer in command . Post - World War I mine clearance . Through the end of World War I and into the spring of 1919 , " Teal " served in the 4th Naval District patrolling off the shores of New Jersey , Delaware , and Pennsylvania . On 20 April 1919 , the minesweeper reported for duty with the North Sea Minesweeping Detachment . As a unit of Mine Division 2 , she labored to clear the North Sea Mine Barrage and remained in European waters until the task had been completed late in the fall of 1919 . Teal Modified as an auxiliary aircraft tender . Upon her return to the United States toward the end of November , " Teal " was modified for service as an auxiliary aircraft tender . Although not officially designated a " minesweeper for duty with aircraft " until 30 April 1931 , she nevertheless served in this capacity throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s . Operating out of Norfolk , Virginia , from the Caribbean in the south to Narragansett Bay in the north , " Teal " supported operations with the air squadrons of the Scouting Fleet . Frequently in company with and , and later with , she visited the Panama Canal Zone where she serviced the squadrons based at Coco Solo . Her normal schedule alternated winter maneuvers in the Caribbean - Gulf of Mexico area with summer training along the New England coast . By the mid - 1930s , " Teal ' s " home port was Coco Solo , whence she operated with Patrol Wing ( PatWing ) 4 . " Teal " was redesignated a small seaplane tender , AVP - 5 , effective on 22 January 1936 . On 18 October of the following year , she and PatWing 4 were reassigned to Seattle , Washington . For almost five years , " Teal " operated throughout the Aleutians island chain in support of PatWing 4 operations . World War II operations . Soon after the opening of hostilities between the United States and Japan , " Teal " moved south to the California coast . In January 1942 , the small seaplane tender was assigned to the Pacific Southern Naval Coastal Frontier , the short - lived forerunner of the Western Sea Frontier , but she remained administratively under the commander of the Scouting Force aircraft . She tended the planes of PatWing 8 until March . In July , " Teal " returned to Seattle and duty with Pat - Wing 4 in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska areas . Until the end of the war , the small seaplane tender plowed the icy seas between the Aleutian Islands and along the Alaskan coast . She continued to support flying patrol boats ; but the drain of warships from the Alaskan theater to other , more active areas frequently required her to be pressed into service as an escort and sometimes as a resupply transport . Decommissioning . Shortly after the cessation of hostilities on 23 November 1945 , " Teal " was decommissioned at Seattle , Washington ; and her name was struck from the Navy list on 5 December 1945 . On 19 January 1948 , she was delivered to the Maritime Commission at Port Nordland , Washington , and simultaneously sold to Mr . Murray E . Baker .