USS Symbol (AM-123) - Atlantic Ocean Operations

Atlantic Ocean Operations

Symbol sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, to complete outfitting from 6 to 26 January 1943 and then sailed to Key West, Florida, to hold her shakedown cruise which ended at Norfolk, Virginia, on 9 February. On the 17th, she escorted Monadnock (ACM-10) to Boston, Massachusetts, and returned to Norfolk, Virginia. The minesweeper stood out of Norfolk on 20 March en route to Iceland for duty. She arrived at Reykjavík on the 31st and operated there until 22 July when she got underway to return to Norfolk. She remained at Norfolk from 30 July to mid-August.

Symbol was assigned to escort convoy UGS-15 to North Africa, and it sortied on 16 August. The convoy arrived at Oran, Algeria, on 3 September. Two days later, the minesweeper was assigned to Task Force (TF) 81 for the pre-invasion sweeps of Salerno. She arrived off the beaches on 8 September and streamed her sweep gear at 2245 hours to clear the inshore transport area. The ship swept mines during the day and served as antisubmarine and "E-boat" patrol at night. There was a heavy air attack on the 16th, and Symbol's guns splashed two German Focke-Wulf aircraft. The same day, she departed with a convoy for Palermo, Sicily, and returned on the 19th. On 21 September she went to the aid of SS William W. Gerhard, which had either hit a mine or been torpedoed, and took aboard 124 survivors. She departed with a convoy for Bizerte on the 25th and returned with another on 1 October and remained for four days before returning to Bizerte.

Symbol shuttled between North African and Italian ports until 8 January 1944 when she arrived at Naples, Italy, with a convoy from Oran. She was attached to the sweeper group for Operation Shingle, the landing of Allied forces 60 miles behind the German lines in the Anzio-Nettuno area. The group sortied on the 21st and arrived at the assault area where Symbol began sweeping the transport area for their arrival. She swept mines during the day and performed patrol duty at night. On the 26th, she shot down a German aircraft during an air raid. She departed the operating zone on 13 February with a convoy for Naples. Symbol shuttled convoys between Africa and Italy for the next four months with assignments to Anzio in between. She was at Anzio sweeping and patrolling from 7 to 15 March; 15 to 18 April; 24 to 31 May; and 1 to 10 June. On the 10th, a German fighter-bomber attacked, dropping an anti-personnel bomb which exploded 50 yards off the starboard quarter just before hitting the water. The ship had four killed, 25 injured, and approximately 125 holes, some one and one-half inches long, in her hull and superstructure. She returned to Naples for repairs and held training exercises in July.

Symbol departed Naples, Italy, on 12 August as a convoy escort for ships destined to participate in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. As the fleet closed the landing beaches, the minesweepers were detached to begin clearing transport areas and swept lanes to the beaches. Symbol was in the Gulf of St. Tropez from 15 to 31 August; sweeping during the day and patrolling at night. She swept channels of Marseille from 2 to 17 and from 25 to 30 September. Symbol swept in the Golfe de Juan in late October and off Cannes from 1 to 13 November. After an overhaul at Bizerte, she returned to Golfe de Juan from 6 to 9 December and then sailed for Bizerte, via Sardinia.

Symbol joined a convoy at Oran and sailed for the United States on 28 December 1944. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 January 1945 and was overhauled in preparation for duty in the Pacific.