USS Swan ( AM - 34 ) The first USS " Swan " ( AM - 34 / AVP - 7 ) 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 . " Swan " , a minesweeper , was laid down at Mobile , Alabama , on 10 December 1917 by the Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co . ; launched on Independence Day 1918 ; sponsored by Miss Hazel Donaldson ; and commissioned at New Orleans , Louisiana , on 31 January 1919 , Lt . ( jg . ) Fredman J . Walcott , USNRF , in command . North Sea mine clearance operations . Almost immediately , " Swan " prepared to sail to Scotland , there to participate in clearing the huge North Sea Mine Barrage laid in 1918 to prevent warships and submarines of German High Seas Fleet from breaking out into the $ 3 . Assigned to Division Five , North Sea Minesweeping Detachment , " Swan " arrived at Kirkwall , Scotland , with the first wave of twelve minesweepers on 20 April 1919 . Under the command of Rear Admiral Joseph Strauss , who broke his flag in tender ( Destroyer Tender No . 9 ) , the minesweepers began operations out of Inverness Firth nine days later . Their task was monumental , as the American minesweepers ( in company with modified sub chasers and British minesweepers ) were tasked with sweeping over 70 , 000 mines laid in an area roughly long by wide , or over . " Swan " conducted mine sweeping operations for the next five months , spending 108 of those days at sea . Some diversion from the grueling , dangerous work was provided by the thousands of fish killed by the exploding mines , which providing an abundance of cod and herring for the Mine Detachments ' cooks . Sailing for home on 1 October , the detachment made stops at Devonport , England ; Brest , France ; Lisbon , Portugal ; the Azores ; and Bermuda ; before arriving in New York on 20 November . Post - World War I Atlantic operations . Assigned to Division 2 of Mine Squadron 2 of the Atlantic Fleet , " Swan " completed final acceptance trials in the spring of 1920 and began routine operations out of Portsmouth , New Hampshire , in late June . These operations included buoy work and wreck salvage , and the latter duty is what brought the minesweeper into Cape Cod Bay in November of that year . On 28 November , during an attempt to refloat a wrecked oil barge , heavy seas came up quickly and cast " Swan " on the beach in Cape Cod Bay . The sudden disaster stranded the minesweeper on the beach and mountainous seas threatened to wreck the stricken ship . Rapid response by the Gurnet Beach Coast Guard crew saved the day , however , and the Coast Guards ' heroic efforts brought all fifty - six sailors to safety through breeches buoy and surfboat . The stranded minesweeper survived the winter on the beach and was refloated on 22 February 1921 and towed to Portsmouth , New Hampshire , for repairs . During that process " Swan " decommissioned there on 23 May 1922 before being placed in commission again on 23 June 1923 . That fall , she was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard but operated out of Quantico , Virginia , where she provided target and other fleet services . By the spring of 1926 , " Swan " changed duty stations again , this time working for the 15th Naval District out of Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone . On 30 April 1931 , while still in the Canal Zone , she was designated a " minesweeper for duty with aircraft , " presaging her later change of designation . She decommissioned again on 21 December 1933 , this time at San Diego , California . A little over three months later , on 2 April 1934 , the minesweeper was commissioned for the third time and reassigned to the Fleet Air Base at Pearl Harbor . On 22 January 1936 , " Swan " was officially redesignated a small seaplane tender , " AVP - 7 " . Under attack at Pearl Harbor . For the next five years , " Swan " operated as a tender for Patrol Wing ( PatWing ) 2 out of Pearl Harbor . On the morning of 7 December 1941 , she was resting on the Marine Railway dock at Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes swooped in on the ships in the harbor . Her crew saw the first bomb dropped on the south ramp of the Fleet Air Base at 0755 . Eight minutes later , she opened fire with her 3 - inch anti - aircraft battery . The next few hours were so hectic for her that her crew could not maintain a chronological log of the action , but they did claim an enemy aircraft for their 3 - inch battery . Though she had been in drydock for boiler upkeep , her engineers had her ready to refloat by 1315 . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . " Swan " remained in Pearl Harbor for another month , assisting in the salvage work . Then , on 8 January 1942 , she got underway for American Samoa . She arrived at Pago Pago on the 18th and remained until 25 July , except for a voyage to the Danger Island s in mid - March to rescue three naval airman who survived 34 days at sea and had landed on island of Puka Puka , and a month - long visit to Wallis Island from late May to early July . She headed back to Pearl Harbor on the 25th and arrived on 4 August . She was overhauled there and , after loading ammunition and supplies at Kaneohe Naval Air Station , from 28 to 30 October got underway to return to the South Pacific . On this voyage , she visited Canton Island , Suva in the Fiji Islands , Funafuti in the Ellice Islands , Gardner Island , Sydney Island , Hull Island , and Palmyra Island . She departed Palmyra Island on 8 December and returned to Pearl Harbor on the 13th . " Swan " put to sea again on the 30th to carry supplies to Canton Island . She unloaded her cargo there on 7 January 1943 and reentered Pearl Harbor on the 16th . The tender remained at Pearl Harbor until 12 March when she sailed to Johnston Island to tow " YC - 811 " back to Pearl Harbor . " Swan " returned to Pearl Harbor on 23 March and , from then until the beginning of May , she assisted the fleet air wing by towing targets for bombing practice . From 8 to 22 May , she made a voyage to Tern Island of French Frigate Shoals , located about halfway between the main Hawaiian Islands and Midway Island . Upon her return to Pearl Harbor , she resumed target - towing duties , this time for torpedo bombers . Between 1 and 7 June , she made another round - trip voyage to French Frigate Shoals and back , then resumed target towing and torpedo recovery duty . For the next two years , " Swan ' s " area of operations was confined to the immediate vicinity of the major islands of the Territory of Hawaii . She continued to participate in training missions by towing targets and recovering torpedoes for both planes and ships . She also transported passengers and cargo between the islands and rendered other auxiliary services . Post - World War II operations . By June 1945 , she was in the Consolidated Shipyard , in Los Angeles , California , undergoing a major overhaul . She remained there through the month of July and into August . On 13 August , " Swan " headed back to Pearl Harbor and arrived on the 21st . She resumed her routine until 6 October , when she set sail for San Diego , California . After a two - day stop there , on the 15th and 16th , she continued on to the Panama Canal . She arrived at Coco Solo in the Canal Zone on 28 October and , two days later , continued on to Boston , Massachusetts . She reported to the Commandant , 1st Naval District , at Boston on 9 November . Decommissioning . On 13 December 1945 , pursuant to the findings of a board of inspection and survey , " Swan " was decommissioned at Boston , Massachusetts . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 8 January 1946 and , just over nine months later , on 12 October , her hulk was delivered to the Maritime Commission at Newport , Rhode Island , for disposal . Awards . USS " Swan " earned one battle star during World War II .