The USS Blue Jay (AMc-23) was a wooden-hulled coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II, originally built as a fishing vessel. Constructed in 1936 by the Wilbur Morse Shipyards in Thomaston, Maine, the vessel was initially a dragger operated by John G. Murley of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The Navy acquired her from Murley on 5 November 1940, renaming her Blue Jay and redesignating her as AMc-23, a coastal minesweeper. She was converted into a minesweeper at the George Lawley & Sons shipyards in Neponset, Massachusetts, and placed in service at the Boston Navy Yard on 22 June 1941. Following her commissioning, the Blue Jay departed Boston on 14 July 1941 for training at the Mine Warfare School in Yorktown, Virginia, before proceeding to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In August 1941, she joined the local defense forces of the 4th Naval District, operating as part of the minesweeping detachment tasked with clearing the mouth of the Delaware River. She and her sister ships conducted minesweeping operations through the autumn of 1943, safeguarding vital maritime approaches during the early war years. In November 1943, Blue Jay was ordered to Newport, Rhode Island, for conversion into a diving tender (YDT). Her coastal minesweeper designation was canceled on 20 November 1943, and she was renamed YDT-6 after the conversion was completed at the Boston Navy Yard in May 1944. As YDT-6, she operated out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island, primarily as a torpedo retriever and diving tender supporting naval air station activities. Following the end of World War II, YDT-6 was placed out of service on 15 April 1946, struck from the Navy list in May, and returned to her original owner. She resumed her prewar role as a fishing vessel, ending her maritime service as a wooden-hulled craft with a notable wartime conversion history, reflecting the versatile use of such vessels during the conflict.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.