AH-WR-1683

USS Grouse

Minesweeper · United States · Lost 1963 · Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine

A wooden wartime minesweeper grounded off Rockport in 1963 and was burned after repeated salvage attempts.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1943, YMS-321 served in the Pacific during World War II. Renamed Grouse in 1947, it later trained naval personnel. It grounded on Little Salvages on September 21, 1963 during a reserve cruise. After unsuccessful attempts to free it, the Navy burned it on September 29.

Vessel

Built: 1943
Registry: YMS-321; AMS-15; MSC(O)-15
Builder: Al Larson’s Boat Shop
Yard: Terminal Island, California
Material: Wood
Length: 136 ft
Beam: 24.5 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Geared diesel engines, two propellers
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: September 21, 1963
Cause: Grounding
Location: Little Salvages off Rockport, Massachusetts
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Rockport, Massachusetts
Region: Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine

No coordinates transcribed; no position inferred from locality descriptions.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

Present remains, depth and a casualty total are not established in the reviewed account.

Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources — USS Grouse
Vessel particulars, loss account, historical background and site information; full opened page preserved in sources/uss-grouse.txt.