The USS Goldfinch (AMS-12/YMS-306) was a YMS-1-class minesweeper of the YMS-135 subclass, constructed with a wooden hull by Rice Brothers Corp. in East Boothbay, Maine. Launched and commissioned on 20 January 1944, she was designed for the perilous task of removing mines from strategic waterways, ensuring safe passage for allied vessels during and after World War II. Following her commissioning, YMS-306 departed Boston on 6 February for shakedown training off Norfolk, Virginia. By 16 April 1944, she was stationed in Bermuda for minesweeping operations. After returning to Norfolk, she prepared for Pacific deployment, departing for California on 18 July 1945. She arrived in San Pedro via the Panama Canal on 14 August 1945, shortly after the end of World War II hostilities. Extensive repairs at Pearl Harbor preceded her return to the U.S. mainland in February 1946. She subsequently sailed to the East Coast, arriving in Charleston, South Carolina, on 1 May 1946, where she began a routine schedule of training and readiness operations with the Atlantic Fleet's Mine Force. Throughout her service, Goldfinch operated primarily along the southeastern U.S. coast, including locations such as Panama City, Florida, Key West, Florida, and occasionally as far north as Argentia, Newfoundland. Her activities included individual and fleet training exercises, notably amphibious operations in the Caribbean in 1950 and off North Carolina in 1954. On 17 February 1947, she was named Goldfinch, and her designation was updated to MSO(O)-12 in 1955. Decommissioned on 11 October 1957, the vessel was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet before being struck from the Navy List on 1 November 1957. She was sold in 1960 to the Maine Vocational Technical Institute and later served as a fishing vessel. Over subsequent decades, she changed hands and names, including AQUALAB and Maida Lee, before being sunk as part of the Key West Gulfside artificial reef system in April 1985. The USS Goldfinch's history reflects her significant role in post-war minesweeping operations and her enduring maritime legacy.

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