USS Miantonomah ( CMc - 5 ) USS " Miantonomah " ( CM - 10 / CMc - 5 ) was built as SS " Quaker " by Pusey & Jones Corp . , Wilmington , Delaware , in 1938 and during the next three years operated along the eastern seaboard as a fast inland water passenger and freight carrier . Acquisition by the U . S . Navy . She was acquired by the United States Navy from her owner , Philadelphia & Norfolk Steamship Co . , at Boston , Massachusetts on 5 May 1941 ; renamed Miantonomah on 14 May 1941 ; converted for U . S . Navy use as a coastal minelayer by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co . , East Boston , Massachusetts ; and commissioned at Boston on 13 November 1941 , Lieutenant Commander Raymond D . Edwards in command . East Coast operations . After completing conversion and following shakedown , " Miantonomah " steamed to the Virginia Capes where on 11 January 1942 she began laying her first minefield with . Operating out of Yorktown , Virginia , she joined in the effort to reduce the German submarine menace along the east coast , and during the next several months sowed mines off Cape Hatteras and Key West , Florida . In addition , defensive mining operations sent her to the southern reaches of the Caribbean off Trinidad . Reclassified CM - 10 on 15 May 1942 , she continued duty with Mine Division 50 and in October completed preparations for oversea combat duty . Invasion of North Africa . Loaded with a full cargo of mines , " Miantonomah " departed Yorktown on 23 October and the next day joined the Center Attack Group ( TG 34 . 9 ) of the Western Naval Task Force . Heavy seas forced the minelayer out of the convoy south of the Azores on 4 November ; escorted by , she rejoined the task force on 7 November as ships approached to launch a three - pronged invasion of French Morocco . " Miantonomah " arrived off Fedala late on the 7th and — because of her cargo — remained clear of the transport area . Following the pre - dawn amphibious landings , and the subsequent neutralization of shore batteries by intense accurate naval gunfire , she laid down a defensive minefield north and east of the transport area about noon on 8 November , thence anchored in Fedala Harbor . She remained at Fedala during the next few days and escaped damage from two German submarine attacks on 11 – 12 November , although three torpedo es on the 11th passed within of her . These attacks by and sank four U . S . ships and damaged two others . From 12 – 15 November , she steamed in convoy to Casablanca . After loading mines from , she joined " Monadnock " and " Terror " and on the 16th extended the Fedala minefield along the Moroccan coast to Casablanca . The next morning she departed Casablanca and sailed with other ships of TG 34 . 9 for the United States . Heavy seas pounded her badly but she arrived at Yorktown on 30 November . Return to Stateside . " Miantonomah " underwent repairs at Norfolk from 8 December 1942 – 19 January 1943 , then resumed duty out of Yorktown in Chesapeake Bay and along the Virginia coast . She operated out of Boston , Massachusetts from 9 April - 25 May and returned to Yorktown on 29 May to prepare for minelaying operations in the Caribbean . She departed on 14 June , reached Trinidad on the 20th , and later in the month sowed mines to protect the approaches to that important American base . She returned to the Chesapeake Bay on 28 July and operated out of Yorktown during the next nine months . On 29 April , she sailed to Bayonne , New Jersey ; thence , as a unit of TG 27 . 1 , she departed Gravesend Bay , New Jersey on 5 May to support the Allied invasion of Europe . Invasion of Europe operations . " Miantonomah " arrived Bristol , England on 16 May and began duty with the 12th Fleet . She operated out of Bristol until D - Day , 6 June , when she steamed via Cardiff to Plymouth , England . She continued dispatch and escort duties in British waters until arriving off Grandcamp , France on 25 June . There she embarked Rear Admiral John E . Wilkes and became flagship for CTF 125 . She steamed to Cherbourg on 9 July , and on the 18th Admiral Wilkes hauled down his flag prior to " Miantonomah " s departure to England . Arriving Plymouth , later that day , " Miantonomah " returned to Cherbourg on the 20th carrying supplies for port clearance operations . For more than two months , she made runs between English and liberated French ports and provided valuable support for salvage and clearing operations . On 21 September , she carried port clearance supplies from Cherbourg to Le Havre , which was liberated by sea and land less than two weeks before . Sunk by a mine off the French coast . " Miantonomah " sailed early in the afternoon of the 25th . Because of the danger of enemy mines , her skipper — Cdr . Austin E . Rowe — ordered " the highest state of watertight integrity to be set and all personnel not actually on watch below to be on topside and wear lifejackets " — measures which undoubtedly saved many lives . With a French harbor pilot at the conn , she skillfully navigated the inner and outer harbors and cleared the blockship s , thence made course for the entrance to the marked channel . As she steamed about out from the blockships , she was rocked at 14 : 15 by a tremendous underwater explosion under the engine room . This blast — possibly followed by a second one — dazed or injured practically the entire crew . Immediately , the stricken ship began to sink rapidly by the stern and to starboard . Damage control efforts proved useless , and as Coast Guard vessels , British motor launches , and a French fishing craft stood by to rescue survivors , her injured skipper ordered " Miantonomah " to be abandoned . She sank about 20 minutes after the explosion with a loss of some 58 officers and men at position . Awards . " Miantonomah " received two battle stars for her World War II service .