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| Yard Mine Sweepers |
| The Yard Mine Sweeper (YMS), was a small wooden ship designed for home defense by yacht designer Henry Nevins in 1940. But when the war came it was found to be ideal for sweeping in shoal waters ahead of our invasion craft. There were at least 481 of these craft built in small shipyards all around the United States, and they served at Anzio, Normandy, Okinawa and many other hot places. These feisty little craft have been neglected by the media and Hollywood, maybe because they only had numbers and not names! But they were in great demand in the US Navy and allied fleets. The craft were attractive, yacht like, vessels, and they make fine models with their jaunty lines and their fascinating gear out on open decks. The length was only 136 feet, and beam was only 24 feet, but they could go anywhere in the world by adding extra fuel drums on deck.. They served on into the Korean War, when they were designated AMSs and given names. USS Mockingbird was made in a shipyard where this writer later worked, Chicago’s Grebe Shipyard. Recently I got to know Mr. Arthur Kosar who worked at Grebe during World War II and who has recently made a fine YMS model of his own. Most YMS sailors agree that the craft was well designed, but this writer thought that the YMS design was lightly constructed for the hazardous use it was subjected to. Of course, as a model ship builder, I know only those massive framed hulls of the age of fighting sail. In fact the laminated YMS frames are stronger than those old sawn futtocks. YMS hull planking was a double thickness, two inch fir planks staggered over one inch fir planks. The YMS is a good challenge.for model builders. To my knowledge there are no plank on frame models of them, no cutaway models and no radio control models. As a small ship with a lot of working detail they would make fine RC models. There are many differences in the YMS series, but it is still possible to contact men who served on them and who can help in the details. |
