View source for USS Finch (AM-9)

{{short description|United States minesweeper}}
{{other ships|USS Finch}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Lapwing - NH 44903.jpg
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name= USS ''Finch''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= Standard Shipbuilding Co., New York
|Ship laid down=  
|Ship launched= 30 March 1918 
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 10 September 1918, as Minesweeper No.9 
|Ship decommissioned=   
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 8 May 1942
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified= AM-9, 17 July 1920 
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours= 1 [[battle star]] (World War II)
|Ship fate= damaged by Japanese bomb, 10 April 1942
|Ship notes=salvaged by Japanese
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag= {{IJN flag|1942}}
|Ship name= PB-103
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= 
|Ship laid down=  
|Ship launched= 
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 
|Ship decommissioned=   
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified= 
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours= 
|Ship fate= Sunk by United States bombs, 12 January 1945
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Lapwing|minesweeper}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|950|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} 
|Ship length={{convert|187|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=  
|Ship speed={{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= 
|Ship complement=78
|Ship armament=2 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Finch'' (AM-9)''' was a {{sclass|Lapwing|minesweeper}} acquired by the [[U.S. Navy]] for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. ''Finch'' was named for the [[Bird|finch]], and is strictly speaking the only U.S. vessel named for such.

''Finch'' was launched 30 March 1918 by [[Standard Shipbuilding]] Co., New York; sponsored by Mrs. F. G. Peabody; and commissioned 10 September 1918. 

== North Atlantic operations == 
After training and operations with a [[submarine]] bell, ''Finch'' sailed from New York 9 August 1919 for [[Kirkwall]], [[Orkney Islands]], Scotland. Here she based for two months of duty removing the vast number of mines laid in the [[North Sea]] during [[World War I]]. ''Finch'' returned to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] on 29 November 1920, and on 3 January 1920 sailed for [[San Pedro, California]], where from 1 March to 29 August she was in reduced commission.

== Pacific Ocean operations ==
Modernized, she sailed from San Francisco on 20 August 1921 for duty with the [[Asiatic Fleet]], and for the next 20 years, served in the [[Philippines]] in the winter and out of the China base at [[Yantai|Chefoo]] in the summer. Her duties were varied, and included towing and salvage work, as well as participation in the [[Yangtze River Patrol]]. She joined in fleet exercises, and as war tension heightened, played a part in protecting American citizens and interests in the Far East.

In 1937, Finch was commanded briefly by LCDR (later VADM, permanent rank) [[Hyman G. Rickover]], future commander of [[Naval Reactors]] and the longest-serving active duty U.S. Naval officer.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rickover|last=Polmar|first=Norman|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1982|isbn=0-671-24615-1|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rickover00polm/page/86 86-89]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/rickover00polm/page/86}}</ref>    Rickover commanded ''Finch'' from 17 July to 5 October 1937 and it was the only command at sea Rickover ever held. The ship was primarily operating at Shanghai, China, to protect American interests during the [[Battle of Shanghai]].

== World War II operations == 
In 1941, she began work in intensive development exercises with [[submarine]] and mine groups in the [[Philippines]], and as war came closer, spent December on patrol in the [[Taiwan Straits]].  According to an account given by Yeoman 3C A. Glenn Pratt, a crewmember aboard the ''Finch'', she was assigned, along with the {{USS|Heron|AM-10|2}}, a sister vessel with a diving bell, to escort two US Navy river gunboats back to Manila Harbor from their station in China since the Japanese had sunk one such vessel, the [[Panay incident|''Panay'']], in 1937. During the return leg of this mission, the vessels were temporarily surrounded by Japanese naval vessels headed toward the Philippines.  The gunboats scouted the Japanese column, then pulled ahead to report the naval activity to Washington, while the ''Finch'' and ''Heron'' stayed behind, eventually being left by the Japanese as well.  The two vessels returned to Manila Bay on 6 December 1941.

As the Japanese began aerial bombardment of bases in the Philippines, the ''Finch'' continued her task of sweeping for mines to keep the channel into the harbor open for incoming shipping.  Yeoman Pratt reported that machine gunners on board the ''Finch'' downed one Japanese aircraft during an air raid, and though the Captain congratulated them, he asked them not to repeat the feat so that they would not become a special target and be able to continue mine sweeping operations.  After running out of fuel in March, ''Finch'' was anchored in shallow water and her crew taken to shore defense positions.

== Sunk by a Japanese bomb ==
On 9 April 1942, while moored at the eastern point of [[Corregidor]], ''Finch'' was damaged by the near miss of a Japanese bomb, her seams opening and fragments of the bomb piercing her hull. The entire crew landed safely, and ''Finch'' was abandoned to sink the next day, 10 April 1942.

Many of the ''Finch''{{'}}s crew served during the siege of Corregidor, though her captain was evacuated to Australia via submarine.  The survivors of Corregidor were the first prisoners to arrive at [[Cabanatuan]] prison camp.  Many were later removed to camps in Japan or Taiwan.  Yeoman Pratt, held in three camps in Taiwan, was evacuated aboard the destroyer escort [[USS Finch (DE-328)|USS ''Finch'']], and was startled at seeing the name, thinking it had been named for his old vessel, but that ship was named in honor of Lt.(j.g.) [[Joseph W. Finch]], who died aboard the [[USS Laffey (DD-459)|USS ''Laffey'']] during the battle of [[Guadalcanal]].

According to Japanese records<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/PB-103_t.htm IJN Patrol Boat No. 103: Tabular Record of Movement]</ref> the ''Finch'' was salvaged and designated IJN Patrol Boat 103 in April 1943.  The PB 103 served as a convoy escort in the Philippines and Indochina. On 12 January 1945, off Cape Padaran in the [[South China Sea]] (11°10'N, 108°55'E), ''Finch'' was attacked and sunk by aircraft from the ''[[USS Lexington (CV-16)]]'', ''[[USS Hancock (CV-19)]]'' and ''[[USS Hornet (CV-12)]]'' which were part of Vice Admiral [[John S. McCain, Sr.]]'s Task Force 38 that had [[South China Sea raid#Strikes on southern Indochina|entered the South China Sea to raid Japanese shipping]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1945.html |title=Chapter VII: 1945 |work=The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II  |year=2006 |access-date=19 January 2012}}</ref>

==Awards==

*[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]] with "Minesweeper" clasp
*[[Yangtze Service Medal]]
*[[China Service Medal]]
*[[American Defense Service Medal]] with "FLEET" clasp
*[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]]
*[[World War Two Victory Medal]]
*[[Philippine Presidential Unit Citation]]
*[[Philippine Defense Medal]] with one star

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f2/finch-i.htm}}

==External links==
* {{navsource|11/02009|USS Finch (Minesweeper No.9/AM-9)}}

{{Lapwing class minesweeper}}
{{WWII Japanese auxiliary ships}}
{{April 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{January 1945 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|14|22|N|120|35|E|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch (AM-9)}}
[[Category:Lapwing-class minesweepers]]
[[Category:Ships built in New York City]]
[[Category:World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Naval ships of the United States captured by Japan during World War II]]
[[Category:World War II patrol vessels of Japan]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1945]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft]]
[[Category:Minesweepers sunk by aircraft]]