USS Grebe (AM-43) - Post-World War I Mine Clearance

Post-World War I Mine Clearance

From 9 July 1919 until 1 October, Grebe, based at Kirkwall, Orkney, was part of a minesweeper flotilla clearing the North Sea of mines laid by the Allies during World War I. She returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 28 November 1919 via Davenport, Brest, Lisbon, the Azores, Bermuda, and New York. After extensive repairs, Grebe moved to the Boston Navy Yard 4 November 1920; from there she sailed the coast from Maine to New Jersey calibrating radio compass stations and doing miscellaneous towing and rescue work. On 29 April 1921 she rescued 139 passengers from the Portuguese steamer SS Mormugao, which had run aground off the Massachusetts coast.