Warbler II AMS-208

Warbler II

(MSC-208: dp. 412'; 1. 145'; b. 28'; dr. 12' (max.); s. 12.8 k.; cpl. 40; a. 1 20mm., 2 .60-car. mg., 1 81mm. M.; cl. Redwing)

The second Warbler (AMS-208) was laid down on 16 October 1963 at Bellingham, Wash., by the Bellingham Shipyards Co.; launched on 18 June 1964, sponsored by Mrs. S. A. Blythe; redesignated MSC-208 on 7 February 1966; and commissioned at the Naval Station, Tacoma, Wash., on 26 July 1966, Lt. (jg.) James S. Elfelt in command

Following shakedown training, Warbler reported to Commander, Mine Force, Pacific Fleet, and operated locally out of Long Beach for the next year. In August 1966, in company with Whippoorwill (MSC-207), the minesweeper set sail for the Far East to assume duties as flagship for Mine Division 32. Homeporting at Sasebo, Japan, Warbler would remain in the Far East over the next 14 years, participating in numerous mine exercises with the navies of other friendly Far Eastern nations such as South Korea, Nationalist China, the Philippines, and Japan.

Highlighting the ship's deployment to the western Pacific, Warbler conducted numerous tours of duty on "Market-Time" patrols off the coast of Vietnam. A small wooden craft especially designed for coastal minesweeping operations and deployments lasting from a few days to several weeks, Warbler and her sister minesweepers filled the gap between the heavier units of the fleet, like the destroyers and destroyer escorts, and the small craft used for patrol work, until built-for-the purpose patrol craft could enter the fray. During her "Market-Time" cruises, Warbler boarded many junks, ascertaining cargo and destination; investigated contacts of steel-hulled vessels picked up on radar; and endured what at times appeared to be "fearfully strong weather that seemed bent on total destruction" of the ship. At times, boarding of junks was an impossibility because of the vagaries of monsoon-type weather.

During one "Market-Time" patrol in the spring of 1968, Warbler conducted a joint salvage evolution with the salvage vessel Conserver (ARS-39). She located a downed aircraft, an F-100 Super Sabre fighter, and a wayward box of hypodermic needles. The ship also conducted extensive searches for an A-6 Intruder, a medevac (medical evacuation) helicopter, and two target drones. The minesweeper then cruised off the delimitarized zone (the DMZ) before heading home to Sasebo via the Nationalist Chinese port of Kaohsiung.

With 45 days of "Market-Time" patrols under her belt in 1968, Warbler returned to the coast of Vietnam in January of 1969 and patrolled briefly near the port of Vung Tau.

Later that autumn, Warbler, in company with her sistership Whippoorwill, departed Sasebo on 6 September, bound for Taiwan and Mine Exercise "Canned Heat." Unfortunately beset with mechanical difficulties the ship went dead in the water in Formasa Strait after attempted repairs at Keelung, Taiwan, had proved ineffective. Eight hours after the ship stopped, Schofield (DEG- 3) answered Warbler's call for assistance and passed a tow to the heavily rolling minecraft. By 10 September, after rapid repairs at Kachsiung, Warbler was ready for sea and participated in the scheduled slate of exercises. At the close of the year, the ship received counter-insurgency practice by tracking highspeed patrol boats sent out for exercise purposes by Commander, Mine Flotilla 1.

The ship's last "Market-Time" patrols in 1970 were similar to the ones she had conducted in past years, as she operated off the coast of Vietnam to aid in the interdiction campaign to cut off the flow of arms and munitions to the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. For two months in 1970, Warbler patrolled between Camranh Bay and Nha Trang, investigating suspicious contacts —none of which proved hostile. "Our greatest excitement during this patrol," her comanding officer later wrote, "was provided by an occasional Soviet Merchantman that would steam through our area and find himself shadowed and photographed by the mighty Warbler."

Whippoorwill consequently relieved Warbler of "Market-Time" duties on 19 July 1970, and the latter got underway from Camranh Bay for the succession of port visits. However, two days after leaving the bay, the ship received a message directing her to return to the United States for decommissioning.

Departing Sasebo on 17 August and sailing via Pearl Harbor for an overnight refueling stop, Warbler reached the west coast of the United States on 17 September in company with Catskill (MCS-1), Vireo (MSC-205), and Widgeon (MSC-208). On 1 October 1970, Warbler was decommissioned.

Simultaneously placed in service as a Naval Reserve training (NRT) ship and homeported at Seattle, Wash., Warbler commenced her new duties soon thereafter. She trained reservists out of Seattle into the mid-1970's and was placed on the sale list in July 1976. On 14 October 1975, she was sold to the government of Fiji.

Warbler (MSC-206) was awarded seven engagement stars for her important services on "Market-Time" patrols.