USS Penguin, a 1009-ton Lapwing class minesweeper, was built at Elizabeth, New Jersey, as part of the World War I ship construction effort. Commissioned in November 1918, ten days after the Armstice brought an end to the fighting, she operated out of New York for several months and, in May 1919, crossed the Atlantic to participate in clearing the wartime mine barrage across the North Sea. Penguin was twice damaged by mine explosions while engaged in this work, with the second incident, in August, causing serious injury. Returning to the U.S. in November, she soon was transferred to the Pacific, operating there until laid up at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, at the beginning of June 1922.
Penguin recommissioned in October 1923 and was employed for the rest of the decade as a gunboat on China's Yangtse River. She spent the 1930s and early 1940s at Guam, performing a variety of duties in support of the local government. When Japan began the Pacific War on 7 December 1941 (8 December at Guam), Penguin helped resist enemy air attacks. She was badly damaged by bomb near misses, and was scuttled later that day in deep water near the island.
This page features all the views we have concerning USS Penguin (Minesweeper # 33, later AM-33), 1918-1941.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
A rather distant view of USS Penguin can be seen
in the:
In addition to the views referenced above, the National Archives appears to hold at least one other photograph of USS Penguin (AM-33). The following listing describes this image:
The image listed below is NOT in the
Naval Historical Center's collections.
DO NOT try to obtain it using the procedures described in our
page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions".
USS Penguin (AM-33) underway in the Whampoa River, off Shanghai, China, October 1928. Photographed by Stahl. Port broadside surface view, rather toward the stern. This ship is in her gunboat configuration, with enlarged superstructure as seen above in Photo # NH 50755. Reproductions of this image should be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system for pictures not held by the Naval Historical Center. The image listed above is NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections. DO NOT try to obtain it using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions". |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 13 July 2004