World War II Atlantic Fleet Operations
Sentinel reported for duty with the Atlantic Fleet on 15 January 1943. The minesweeper experienced her first enemy contact on 20 February while escorting Merak (AF-21) from Bermuda to Norfolk, Virginia when an escorting aircraft dropped a smoke bomb 2,500 yards astern. Picking up suspected submarine wake noise with her echo-ranging equipment, Sentinel attacked on two contacts within a 25-minute period. There was no evidence of damage to the enemy, except for some dark brown or black matter which appeared after the second starboard depth charge exploded.
On 8 March, Sentinel, accompanied by Seer (AM-112), departed Norfolk, Virginia for patrol duty, joined a convoy on the 17th, and anchored at Norfolk the next day. The two minesweepers got underway again on the 19th, and possibly encountered a submarine the next day. They fired depth charges which produced no results, and proceeded to New London, Connecticut. Sentinel spent the remainder of the month in training in Long Island Sound and moored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Read more about this topic: USS Sentinel (AM-113)
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