Struck a Mine near Cardonet Banks
On the morning of June 7, Tide swept the area inshore and between St. Marcauf and Barfleur to clear lanes for fire-support ships. At 0940, while recovering her gear, Tide drifted over the Cardonet Banks and struck a mine which exploded with such force that she was lifted out of the water. The explosion broke her back, blasted a tremendous hoe in her bottom, and tore away all bulkheads below the waterline causing immediate and irreversible flooding. Tide's commanding officer Lt. Comdr. Allard B. Heywood, USNR, died soon after the initial explosion, and Lt. Comdr. George Crane, the ship's executive officer, directed efforts to assist the stricken vessel and to rescue survivors. Threat (AM-124) and Pheasant (AM-61) tried to aid Tide, but the ship was beyond saving. When Swift (AM-122) attempted to tow the damaged ship to the beach, the strain broke her in two. She sank only minutes after the last survivors had been taken off.
