U.S. Navy service
Skirmish was laid down on 8 April 1943 by
Associated Shipbuilders of Harbor Island,
Seattle, Washington; launched on 16 August 1943; and commissioned on 30 June 1944. After completing fitting out and trials in the Seattle area and
shakedown and
anti-submarine warfare training out of
San Pedro, California, and
San Diego, California, respectively,
Skirmish departed the west coast on 2 September 1944. The minesweeper escorted a
convoy to
Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, arriving on 9 September. After 20 days of minesweeping and
antisubmarine drills in the
Hawaiian Islands,
Skirmish stood out of
Pearl Harbor to escort
USS Boreas (AF-8) to
Eniwetok Atoll in the
Marshall Islands. The two ships arrived on 12 October, and
Skirmish departed the next day to return to Pearl Harbor. Upon her return, on 20 October, she resumed training exercise around
Oahu until 3 November when she formed up with a
San Francisco-bound convoy. She stayed in San Francisco for a week from 14 to 21 November, visited
Los Angeles, California, from the 21st to the 23d, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 December. On 12 December, Comdr. L. F. Freeburghouse broke his
pennant in
Skirmish, and she became the
flagship of the Commander, Mine Squadron 12. Following a yard overhaul and more exercises
Skirmish departed the
Hawaiian Islands on 22 January 1945 in the screen of another
Eniwetok-bound
convoy, arriving on 4 February. This time she did not return to Pearl Harbor. Instead, she departed Eniwetok the next day in company with a large contingent of
landing craft, escort ships, and minesweepers. Sailing by way of
Saipan and
Tinian in the
Marianas,
Skirmish arrived off
Iwo Jima, in the
Volcano Islands, on 16 February. For the next three days, she and the other minesweepers conducted sweeps. Then, after the assault on 19 February, she remained in the area on the "ping line" to give advance warning of air attack or
submarines. On 8 March, she cleared Iwo Jima for
Ulithi Atoll in the
Carolines, arriving on 10 March and remaining until the 19th. On 25 March,
Skirmish arrived off
Okinawa, the major island of the
Ryukyus, and commenced sweeping the waters around the island. During the evening of the following day, an enemy "Betty" swooped in on her port side, firing as it closed. Up went the cry, "Action to port," as all guns blazed away at the intruder. As the twin-engine bomber passed over her bow, ''Skirmish's
fusillade ripped into its engines, causing a storm of parts to rain down on her forecastle deck. The "Betty" continued across the bow and splashed to starboard. The minesweeper continued to patrol and sweep around Okinawa until 8 July, putting into port periodically at either Buckner Bay or Kerama Retto. From 26 March on, action was not so close as on that date, but Skirmish's'' crew continued to fight off air attacks and sweep mines. She suffered her only casualty of the war at Okinawa on 2 April, when a dud crashed into a 20 millimeter
gun mount, demolishing it and killing one sailor. On 8 July,
Skirmish sailed from Okinawa for
San Pedro Bay area of
Leyte Gulf. She was still at
Leyte on 10 August when the news of the Japanese surrender offer came. The whole bay exploded into one gigantic 4th-of-July
celebration -
searchlights blazing, sirens screaming and
fireworks going off everywhere. By the 18th, everyone settled down with the realization that there was much to be done in spite of the cessation of hostilities. Accordingly,
Skirmish got underway with the other minesweepers on 18 August to return to
Buckner Bay. She stayed at
Okinawa for a week and a day, from 22 to 30 August, then departed to sweep the
Yellow Sea in support of the Korea occupation forces. From 1 to 7 September, she swept in the area of the Korean coast then headed for
Sasebo, Japan, where she swept the approaches to Sasebo and
Nagasaki. During the ensuing three months she continued operations around
Kyūshū, departing that area once to sweep a shallow field in the
Tsushima Strait. On 11 December,
Skirmish hoisted her homeward bound
pennant and led Mine Squadron 12 in review before Rear Admiral Struble,
Commander, Minecraft Pacific Fleet. As they sailed out of Sasebo, the ships assembled in the harbor rendered honors, and the crews of two
cruisers,
USS Boston (CL-69) and
USS Oklahoma City (CL-90) were paraded in
dress blues. Upon arrival in the United States later in December,
Skirmish was placed out of commission, in reserve, and berthed at
Orange, Texas. She remained there for the next 19 years. She was redesignated
MSF-303 on 11 February 1955 and declared excess to the needs of the Navy in January 1965. Her name was struck from the
Navy list in January 1965, and she was sold to the
Dominican Republic on 14 January, under the terms of the
Military Assistance Program.
Awards Skirmish earned four
battle stars for World War II service. ==Dominican Navy service==