The second Tanager (AM-385) was laid down at Lorain, Ohio, on 29 March 1944 by the American Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 9 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Slingluff; and commissioned on 28 July 1945, Lt. Comdr. Oscar B. Lundgren, USNR, in command.

Tanager steamed via the St. Lawrence River to Boston, Mass., in late July and early August. In October, she moved south to the Naval Amphibious Base at Little Creek, Va., for shakedown training and minesweeping exercises in the Chesapeake Bay area. For almost six years, Tanager operated with the 2d Fleet along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean area. She conducted minesweeping exercises and supported the training efforts of the Mine Warfare School at Yorktown, Va. On three occasions-once each in 1948, 1950, and 1951-she did tours of duty with the Naval Mine Countermeasures Station, located at Panama City, Fla.

On 2 September 1951, she departed Charleston, S.C., for the Mediterranean Sea. While she was deployed with the 6th Fleet, she conducted more minesweeping exercises and visited many of the famous ports in the area. Among those were Mers-el-Kebir, Gibralt ar, Naples, Monaco, Cannes, Venice, Malta, and Genoa. In February 1952, Tanager returned to Charleston and resumed operations with the 2d Fleet. After repairs at Charleston and a voyage to Norfolk and back, the minesweeper began her second Mediterranean deployment in April 1953. During that cruise, she added some new ports-of-call to her itinerary, notably Tangier, Palermo, Marseille, Leghorn, Salonika, and Seville. She also participated in a number of minesweeping exercises with other units of the 6th Fleet. Tanager re-entered Charleston on 26 October 1953.

Following minesweeping exercises alone the southeastern coast of the United States and in tge Caribbean, she entered the yard at Savannah Machine & Foundry Co. on 29 June 1954 for repairs. On 23 September, the minesweeper departed Savannah and headed for Beaumont, Tex. She arrived on the 28th and entered the drydock the same day. She was refloated on 8 October and towed to the naval station at Orange, Tex. Two months later, on 10 December 1954, Tanager was decommissioned and berthed there with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 7 February 1955, the minesweeper was redesignated MSF-385. On 4 October 1963, Tanager was transferred to the Coast Guard for use as a training cutter. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1963, and she was commissioned in the Coast Guard as Tanager (WTR-885) on 16 July 1964. She was decommissioned once more on 1 February 1972; and, on 15 November, she was sold to Mr. William A. Hardesty of Seattle, Wash.