USS Tide (AM-125) - European Operations

European Operations

Tide completed this voyage at Milford Haven harbor, Wales on 10 March and spent the remainder of the month operating out of Falmouth. In April–May, she escorted convoys in British coastal waters and engaged in exercises with minesweepers of the Royal Navy in preparation for the invasion of Europe. In the last week of May, Tide made sweeps out of Babbacombe Bay. On 5 June, Tide got underway from Tor Bay with Minesweeper Squadron "A", a unit assigned to the Utah Beach area. Later that day, German mines began to take their toll as Osprey, a squadron member, went down. As the day wore on, Tide swept channels off the Normandy beaches for fire-support ships and continued sweeps the next day, "D-Day". During the night of 6–7 June, she joined other vessels in guarding the Carentan Estuary to prevent the sally of enemy E-boats.

On the morning of 7 June, Tide swept the area inshore and between Îles Saint-Marcouf and Barfleur to clear lanes for fire-support ships. At 09:40, while recovering her gear, Tide drifted over the Cardonet Banks and struck a mine which exploded with such force that she was lifted out of the water. The explosion broke her back, blasted a tremendous hole in her bottom, and tore away all bulkheads below the waterline causing immediate and irreversible flooding. Tide's commanding officer — Lt. Cdr. Allard B. Heyward — died soon after the initial explosion, and Lt. Cdr. George Crane — the ship's executive officer — directed efforts to assist the stricken vessel and to rescue survivors. Threat and Pheasant tried to aid Tide, but the ship was beyond saving. When Swift attempted to tow the damaged ship to the beach, the strain broke her in two. She sank only minutes after the last survivors had been taken off. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 July.