USS Silverbell

USS Silverbell (AN-51/YN-70) was an Ailanthus-class net laying ship which served with the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific Ocean theatre of operations during World War II. Her career was without major incident, and she returned home after the war bearing one battle star to her credit.

History
United States
Name	USS Silverbell (YN-70)
Namesake	Silverbell
Builder	Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company, Stockton, California
Laid down	7 November 1942
Launched	19 June 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Henry Ohm
Reclassified	AN-51, 20 January 1944
Commissioned	16 February 1944
Decommissioned	10 January 1947, Shanghai, China
Stricken	28 January 1947
Honors and awards	one battle star for World War II service
Fate	Transferred to Republic of China Maritime Customs Service for use as a buoy and lighthouse tender
General characteristics
Class and type	Ailanthus-class net laying ship
Displacement	1,275 tons
Length	194 ft 6 in (59.28 m)
Beam	34 ft 7 in (10.54 m)
Draft	11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Propulsion	diesel electric, 2,500hp
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement	57 officers and enlisted
Armament	one single 3 in (76 mm) gun mount, four twin 20 mm gun mounts

Launched in California

Silverbell (AN-51) was laid down on 7 November 1942 as YN-70 by Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company, Stockton, California, launched on 19 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Henry Ohm; redesignated as AN-51 on 20 January 1944; and commissioned on 16 February 1944.

World War II support

Pacific Ocean operations

Silverbell sailed from San Francisco, California, on 30 March to conduct shakedown training in the San Diego, California, area and returned on 1 April. The next day, she stood out of San Francisco en route to Manus Island, Admiralty Islands. She operated between there and Biak (Netherlands East Indies) until mid-September.

On the 24th, the net layer sailed for Leyte Gulf to support the landings there. She operated between Leyte, Manila, and Subic Bay until 17 November 1945 when she was ordered to return to San Pedro, California, via Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, for disposal.

Silverbell arrived in San Pedro, California, on 9 January 1946 and remained there until 3 July when she sailed for China via Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Subic Bay, Philippine Islands. The net layer remained in the Philippine Islands from 14 September to 22 December when she proceeded to Shanghai, arriving on 29 December 1946.

Post WWII service

Silverbell arrived at San Francisco 21 Dec 45 for disposal. On 10 January 1947, she was transferred to the Chinese Maritime Customs for use as a buoy and lighthouse tender. She was ordered to Shanghai in May 1946. She departed Subic Bay en route on 22 Dec 1946. She was decommissioned at Shanghai and turned over to Chinese Maritime Customs via Foreign Liquidation Commission on 10 Jan. 1947. She was struck from the Navy List on 28 January 1947. She escaped to Taiwan during Chinese Civil War and served in the Taiwanese Customs Preventive Service, scrapped 1974.

Honors and awards

Silverbell received one battle star for World War II service.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YN-70 / AN-51 Silverbell