USS Sanderling ( AM - 37 ) USS " Sanderling " ( AM - 37 ) was an 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 ; launched on 2 September 1918 ; and commissioned on 4 December 1918 , Lieutenant Stanley Danielak in command . 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 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 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 , operating together , located a sunken U - boat . The submarine , probably , 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 .