Archive for category YMS-103

YMS ships lost in the Pacific

I’ve compiled a list of all of the minesweepers lost to Pacific actions, storms, and accidents.

Date Ship Fate Source
1944-09-24 YMS-19

Mine

  • Fate: sunk
  • Cause: mine
  • Location: off Palau, Philippines
  • Coordinates: 6°53’58″N 134°9’44″E
  • Action: Battle of Peleliu
wikimapia.org
1944-10-01 YMS-385

Mine

  • Fate: sunk
  • Cause: mine
  • Location: in Zowariau Channel, off Ulithi, Caroline Islands, Micronesia
  • Coordinates: 9°51’56″N 139°36’59″E
wikimapia.org
1944-10-17 YMS-70

Storm, Typhoon, Foundering

  • Fate: foundered
  • Cause: tropical storm
  • Location: in Leyte Gulf, Philippines
  • Coordinates: 10°56’N, 125°12’E
  • Action: Battle of Leyte
uboat.net
1945-02-14 YMS-48

Gunfire, Shore Batteries

  • Fate: scuttled
  • Cause: shore batteries, fire, & scuttling
  • Location: in Corregidor Bay, off Manila, Philippines
  • Coordinates: 14°25’N 120°34’E
  • Action: Battle for the Recapture of Corregidor
wikimapia.org
1945-04-03 YMS-71

Mine

  • Fate: sunk
  • Cause: mine
  • Location: off Bongao Island, Philippines
  • Coordinates: 4°58’N 119°47’E
wrecksite.eu
1945-04-08 YMS-103

Mine

  • Fate: destroyed
  • Cause: mine, beaching, & intentional destruction
  • Location: off Okinawa, Japan
  • Coordinates: 26°13’N 127°54’E
yms299.org
1945-05-02 YMS-481

Gunfire, Shore Batteries

  • Fate: sunk
  • Cause: shore batteries
  • Location: off Tarakan Island, Netherlands East Indies
  • Coordinates: 03°27’N 117°32’E
  • Action: Battle of Tarakan
uboat.net
1945-06-18 YMS-50

Mine

  • Fate: scuttled
  • Cause: mine & scuttling
  • Location: off Balikpapan, Netherlands East Indies
  • Coordinates: 01°18’S 116°49’E
  • Action: Battle of Balikpapan
wikipedia.org
1945-06-26 YMS-39

Mine

  • Fate: sunk
  • Cause: mine
  • Location: in Makassar Strait, off Balikpapan, Netherlands East Indies
  • Coordinates: 1°19’S 116°49’E
wrecksite.eu
1945-06-26 YMS-365

Mine

  • Fate: scuttled
  • Cause: mine & scuttling
  • Location: in Makassar Strait, off Balikpapan, Netherlands East Indies
  • Coordinates: 1°18’S 116°50’E
wrecksite.eu
1945-07-09 YMS-84

Mine

  • Fate: sunk
  • Cause: drifting mine
  • Location: off Balikpapan, Netherlands East Indies
  • Coordinates: 1°19’0″S 116°48’0″E
  • Action: Battle of Balikpapan
wikimapia.org
1945-09-16 YMS-98

Storm, Typhoon, Foundering

  • Fate: foundered
  • Cause: Typhoon Ida (category 1)
  • Location: off Okinawa, Japan
navsource.org
1945-09-16 YMS-341

Storm, Typhoon, Foundering

  • Fate: foundered
  • Cause: Typhoon Ida (category 1)
  • Location: in Buckner Bay, off Okinawa, Japan
navsource.org
1945-09-16 YMS-421

Storm, Typhoon, Foundering

  • Fate: foundered
  • Cause: Typhoon Ida (category 1)
  • Location: off Okinawa, Japan
navsource.org
1945-09-16 YMS-472

Storm, Typhoon, Foundering

  • Fate: foundered
  • Cause: Typhoon Ida (category 1)
  • Location: off Okinawa, Japan
uboat.net

In most cases, all or most of the crew survived as the damage didn’t cause immediate sinking and left time for abandoning and rescue. The biggest exceptions are the ships lost to Typhoon Ida, whom I also don’t have coordinates for. Those ships were lost to storms and their crews set adrift with most dying in the storm or to sharks.
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YMS-103 Action Report; April 25, 1945

I got this action report from Richard Thornton, son of the captain who drafted it. It details the events leading up to the the beaching of YMS-103 in the first month of the Okinawa operations. You’ll see YMS-299 was in the same detail. My grandfather discusses these events in his journal as well.

YMS-103 Action Report; April 25, 1945; Table of Contents

YMS-103 Action Report; April 25, 1945; Table of Contents

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YMS-103 Muster Roll; March 21, 1945

Also via Richard Thornton, this is the first page of the YMS-103 muster roll. I don’t have the equivalent of this for YMS-299 yet, though I was curious what the document looked like.

YMS-103 Muster Roll; March 21, 1945

YMS-103 Muster Roll; March 21, 1945

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