USS Tide ( AM - 125 ) USS " Tide " ( AM - 125 ) 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 . " Tide " was an oceangoing minesweeper built during World War II . Named for the cyclic rising and falling of Earth ' s ocean surface , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . " Tide " was laid down on 16 March 1942 at Savannah , Georgia , by the Savannah Machinery and Foundry Company ; launched on 7 September 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Ruth Hangs ; and commissioned on 9 May 1943 , Lieutenant Commander Alvin Robinson , USNR , in command . North African operations . Following shakedown training out of Key West and Norfolk , " Tide " got underway from Hampton Roads for her first transatlantic voyage . On 17 July , as she steamed in " convoy " for North Africa , the minesweeper collided with an infantry landing craft — " LCI - 267 " — which she had just provisioned . Damage to the sweeper included sprung plates and two minor hull punctures which were repaired at sea . " Tide " arrived at Casablanca on 18 July and was soon on her way again escorting a convoy bound for American ports . During the homeward voyage on 29 July , a sonar contact prompted " Tide " to drop depth charge s on what she thought was an enemy submarine . Although a later search revealed an oil slick , no submarine sinking was confirmed . Stateside operations . Following her arrival at New York on 9 August , " Tide " operated on the Eastern Sea Frontier until 30 September . In October – November , she made another successful $ 3 crossing , returning to New York on 25 November . In December , " Tide " participated in exercises off the coast of Maine and conducted mine warfare training off Yorktown , Virginia . Convoy duties in the waters of the Eastern Sea Frontier and the Caribbean occupied her in January 1944 . On the 25th , " Tide " got underway again for what was to be her longest convoy escort assignment . Departing Charleston , she steamed — via Bermuda and the Azores — for the United Kingdom . European operations . " Tide " completed this voyage at Milford Haven harbor , Wales on 10 March and spent the remainder of the month operating out of Falmouth . In April – May , she escorted convoys in British coastal waters and engaged in exercises with minesweepers of the Royal Navy in preparation for the invasion of Europe . In the last week of May , " Tide " made sweeps out of Babbacombe Bay . On 5 June , " Tide " got underway from Tor Bay with Minesweeper Squadron " A " , a unit assigned to the Utah Beach area . Later that day , German mines began to take their toll as , a squadron member , went down . As the day wore on , " Tide " swept channels off the Normandy beaches for fire - support ships and continued sweeps the next day , " D - Day " . During the night of 6 – 7 June , she joined other vessels in guarding the Carentan Estuary to prevent the sally of enemy E - boat s . On the morning of 7 June , " Tide " swept the area inshore and between Îles Saint - Marcouf and Barfleur to clear lanes for fire - support ships . At 09 : 40 , while recovering her gear , " Tide " drifted over the Cardonet Banks and struck a mine which exploded with such force that she was lifted out of the water . The explosion broke her back , blasted a tremendous hole in her bottom , and tore away all bulkheads below the waterline causing immediate and irreversible flooding . " Tide " s commanding officer — Lt . Cdr . Allard B . Heyward — died soon after the initial explosion , and Lt . Cdr . George Crane — the ship ' s executive officer — directed efforts to assist the stricken vessel and to rescue survivors . and tried to aid " Tide " , but the ship was beyond saving . When attempted to tow the damaged ship to the beach , the strain broke her in two . She sank only minutes after the last survivors had been taken off . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 July . Riyaz . " Tide " received one battle star for World War II service .