USS Cardinal, a 435-ton minesweeper, was built at Bath, Maine, in 1937 as the civilian fishing boat Jeanne D'Arc. She was acquired by the Navy in August 1940, as the United States began to expand its defenses in response to the fall of France. Renamed Cardinal and given an initial conversion for mine clearance work, she was commissioned in November 1940. The ship was further modified in 1941 and spent the rest of her active Navy career on patrol and minesweeping duties in the Fifth Naval District, encompassing the coastal waters from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Cardinal was placed out of commission in September 1944 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration in late August 1945.