USS SKILL

AM-115

The only known picture of the Skill is the Skill under construction at American Shipbuilding Co. of Cleveland, Ohio

This picture is actually the USS Herald AM-101 changed to show what the the USS Skill actually looked like.
The Herald AM-101 and Toucan AM-387 are known to be very similar to the Skill.

COPIES OF NAVAL RECORDS

Skill I

The ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance.

(AM-115: dp. 890; 1. 221'2"; b. 32'0"; dr. 10'9"; s. 18.1k. (tl.); cpl. 105; a. 1 3", 2 40 mm.; cl. Auk)

The first Skill (AM-115) was laid down on 28 November 1941 by American Shipbuilding Co. of Cleveland, Ohio; launched on 22 June 1942; and placed in service on 17 November 1942, Lt. Comdr. E. J. Kevern, USNR, in command.

After a brief shakedown cruise, Skill was ordered to the Mediterranean Sea where she swept mines and performed other mine-warfare countermeasures along the North African coast before the invasion there. After the initial invasion -at Salerno, Italy, she was assigned patrol and convoy duty in that area. She returned to the area from escort duty on 25 September 1943 and was assigned a patrol station. At 1140, not long after she had taken station, her forward magazine exploded. This was probably due to a submarine's torpedo because a survivor, whose station was on the bridge, later reported having seen a wake of undetermined origin paralleling the ship at a distance of about 150 yards.

Skill was blown in half and the forward section capsized. The after half caught fire, and the flames moved aft until that section exploded and sank at about 1200. Ten minutes later, the capsized bow slipped beneath the waves. Of her 103 officers and men, none of the officers and only 32 of the men survived. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 11 October 1943.

Skill (AM-115) was awarded one battle star for World War II service.

The Sinking of the Skill

From

Most Dangerous Sea

U. S. NAVAL INSTITUTE, ANNAPOLIS MARYLAND

The only minecraft lost during the Salerno campaign was the Skill, torpedoed on September 25. On patrol in the Gulf of Salerno, about midway between Point Licosa and the Isle of Capri, Skill's forenoon watch was thinking happily of noon chow. About 1138 Signalman, third class, Dominic J. Petitti, on the bridge, sighted what may have been a torpedo wake paralleling the ship, about 150 yards distant. Two minutes later twin explosions ripped the ship apart so suddenly that men found themselves floundering in the water before they knew what had happened. A tremendous column of white smoke towered over the ship; a funeral pyre of gold and yellow flamed a thousand feet into the air. Ships for miles around hurried to the rescue. Shill's severed bow upended, went down within ten minutes. The after section burned, exploded, and sank in about twenty minutes.

None of Skill's officers survived. The senior man alive was Gunner's Mate, first class, Henry W. Bataille, badly wounded. The only two men who knew what happened were Petitti, who thought he had seen a torpedo wake from the bridge, and Seaman Charles R. Torrey, hurled from the flying bridge by the explosion which felt just like the last time he'd been torpedoed. Sea man Henry R. Beausoleil, standing mine lookout watch in the bow, was catapulted 100 yards ahead of the ship without knowing what hit him, then swam back, climbed abroad the burning after section and passed life jackets to men in the water. Carpenter's Mate, first class, Everett B. Reed scrambled topside in time to help Electrician's Mate, second class, Edgar P. Lesperance and Seaman Douglas M. Akers launch life rafts, haul injured men up from below decks, and toss life jackets to those in the water. They were helped by Seaman Joseph E. Garnier, himself so badly injured he died two days later. The casualty list for Skill's crew of 103 officers and men was a 100 per cent affair; 71 were dead and every one of the 32 survivors were wounded.

Location Where The U.S.S. Skill Went Down

Mid-April, 1944 Our Navy Article On The SKILL - Just an Auxilary -

U.S. Navy Report On The Loss Of The USS SKILL

View U593's Log of the days before and the day of the attack on the USS Skill

U.S.S. SKILL PERSONNEL LIST

Pers-8273-RPB.

U. S. S. SKILL (AM 115)

25 September 1943

76 Died
29 Survived
4 Transferred before the U. S. S. Skill was sunk.
All officers and chiefs went down with her.

NAME	SERIAL #	RANK	SURVIVED	TRANSFERRED
Ainsworth, Bert R	169200	LTJG
Akers, Douglas M.	291 89 55	S2c	X
Ancefsky, Raymond L.	207 38 25	GM3c
Anderson, Robert W.	608 35 41	EM3c	X
Andrelczyk, Stanley J	244 33 56	S1lc	X
Anner, William C.	608 58 75	EMlc	X
Armstrong, Clyde E.	644 56 61	S1lc		X
Baldwin, Rex V.	120613	LTJG
Baril, Rudolph R.	666 71 66	S1lc
Barrett, Robert J. Jr.	225 11 74	S2c	X
Barronton, William R.	266 64 08	S1lc
Bartlett, James C. Jr.	636 26 21	SM2c
Bataille, Harry W.	646 55 04	GM1c	X
Batezel, Ralph E.	651 58 36	S1c	X
Bazanka, Nelson J.	707 42 98	S1c
Beausoleil, Henry R.	573 00 62	S2c	X
Bedard, Edward J.	204 92 87	RdM3c
Bohner, Charles R.	267 95 87	BM1c
Boyd, John R.	244 16 57	GM3c
Bulger, James E.	202 48 26	S1c
Buck, Kenneth J.	310 52 87	PhM1c
Bulger, Jas E.	2024826	S1c
Burke, Arthur J.	225 12 03	S1c
Burke, John	600 76 60	S1c	X
Carlson, Clifford J.	638 48 29	MoMM2c
Carrol, Earl E.	197420	WO
Chorich, Michael J.	305 35 42	F2c
Coney, Joe	556 16 55	StM1c
Crunk, James G.	287 42 08	WT2c
Daniels, William J.	627 12 13	S2c
Davenport, George T.	724 76 05	MoMM2c
Dawson, Philip J.	647 13 07	Cox
Deas, Preston	552 38 56	StM3c
Doyle, John F.	606 91 19	MoMM2c
Duffey, Orville C.	611 48 56	Cox	X
Elias, Bert L.	615 35 68	MoMM2c	X
Emerson, Charles H. Jr	359 81 76	CEM (AA)
Everett, Donivan D.	664 51 88	QM3c	X
Fuqua, Ladd B.	656 44 95	EM2c
Gager, Reed C.	651 53 76	EM3c
Gagon, Gerard E.	806 76 94	S2c
Gallagher, Eric W.	8017082	S2c
Gallagher, James M.	8096345	S2c
Garnier, Joseph E.	3229765	S2c
Gates, C. Lenoard	622 51 78	BM2c	X
Gaudet, Arthur J.	7619213	S2c
Genarlsky, Walter H.	616 66 63	SoM2c
Gibbens, Robert W.	628 73 34	F2c	X
Haglund, Edward Jr.	622 31 58	MoMM2C	X
Hall, Condrid	630 93 18	StM1c
Harris, Edward E.	636 19 83	MoMM2c
Herren, Elvin LaV.	621 08 70	Bkr2c		X
Heyer, Elmer M.	622 47 35	EM1c	X
Hoffan, Lyle B.	380 39 95	SM1c
Honce, James F.	552 62 01	RM3c	X
Horne, Carl D.	705 19 12	Y2c
Hoxsie, Lowell D.	205 07 01	MoMM2c
Kaszer, Frank	652 68 76	F2c
Kevern, EDW J.	063098	LCDR
King, Claiborne M.	263 60 38	S2c	X
Koehler, John F.	183380	ENS
Krings, George	646 70 82	RM2c	X
Kroell, Joesph H.	628 94 23	SF2c
Lair, Leonard E.	623 21 85	ScM3c
Lardie, Richard J.	623 72 18	F1c
Lesperance, Edgar P.	305 63 07	EM2c	X
Lombardo, Frank M	650 66 43	SoM3c	X
Long, Parl Marker Jr.	382 02 01	RM2c
Mellody, Howard F.	706 52 05	F2c
Moore, Arnold N.	501 05 06	EM1c
Nichols, Albert M.	371 37 45	CQM(PA)
Olender, Frank	111950	LTJG
Parker, Preston E.	6258905	F1
Parks, Henry F.	256 35 82	Y1c
Petitti, Jasper D.	607 38 68	SM3c	X
Phelps, Harry E.	623 66 65	MoMM2c		X
Phillips, William J. Jr.	622 54 35	F2c
Porter, Richard J.	652 99 41	EM3c
Reed, Everett B.	602 53 44	CM1c	X
Ridders, Patrick C.	655 28 35	MoMM2c	X
Rideout, Edward A.	606 88 99	S1c
Romanowicz, Walter J.	725 38 74	RdM2c
Ross, EDW E. Jr	221930	ENS
Schloder, Earl	2507505	F2
Senee, Stanley A.	705 40 22	MoMM2c		X
Seratt, Bert W.	630 04 77	MoMM2c
Shannon, James M.	224 74 87	F2c	X
Sharp, Norris C.	2443254	EM3
Speece, Frank K.	2443253	EM3
Stewart, James Reese	194 25 82	CEM(AA)
Strazzere, Innocenzo E.	608 56 80	MoMM2c
Stringer, James V.	626 20 42	F1c
Sweat, John M.	6371613	SC3
Swett Benj S Jr	120565	LTJG
Thatcher, John G.	660 29 32	RT1c
Thoman, Bruce B.	652 42 23 S2c
Thompson, Martine Dana	225 01 05	GM2c	X
Torrey, Charles R.	606 85 40	S1c	X
Vitanis, Nicholas	706 87 13	GM3c	X
Walter, Barney H.	342 67 96	S1c
Warzenski, B.	6670096	SOM3
Weinstein, David M.	625 37 92	QM2c
Wiener, John C.	300 82 73	SK3c
Wilcox, Robert R.	618 44 17	RM3c
Williams, Willard W Jr	092186	WO
Wchester, Randoloh	244 27 65	SC3c
Windham, Henry R.	274 34 00	CMoMM(AA)
Winker, Irwin W.	669 39 91	SC2c
Wood, Gilbert T.	201 45 10	EM1c	X

The above was compiled from document Pers-8273-RPB by Everett Reed a week after the Skill was sunk. The original list compiled by Everett Reed did not contained the ships officers. The officers were added from a document titled " SALERNO LANDINGS 9 SEPTEMBER 1943 TO 21 SEPTEMBER 1943".

Pictures of the Skill's Crew
Email / Comments From The Crew, Family or Friends

USS SKILL (MSO-471 ) ( AM-115 ) REUNIONS

Naval Minewarfare Association

The Second Skill - USS SKILL MSO 471

The Submarine that sunk the U.S.S. Skill (U-593)
Did the U.S.S Skill sink this submarine?

USS Inaugural AM242 - WWII Minesweeper - An Online Scrapbook

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