Admirable-class minesweeper explained
The
Admirable class was one of the largest and most successful classes of
minesweepers ordered by the
United States Navy during World War II. Typically, minesweepers detected and removed
naval mines before the rest of the fleet arrived, thereby ensuring safe passage for the larger ships. They were also charged with
anti-submarine warfare (ASW) duties with rear-mounted
depth charge racks and a forward-firing
Hedgehog antisubmarine
mortar. Their job was essential to the safety and success of U.S. naval operations during World War II and the
Korean War. These minesweepers were also employed as
patrol vessel and
convoy escorts. The only remaining ship of this class is located at Freedom Park, Omaha, NE.
The of patrol craft escorts was based on the Admirable-class design.[1]
Service in other Navies
As a part of Project Hula – a secret 1945 program that transferred 149 U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay, Territory of Alaska, in anticipation of the Soviet Union joining the war against Japan – the U.S. Navy transferred 24 Admirable-class minesweepers to the Soviet Navy between May and August 1945. At least some of them saw action in the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Northeast Asia in August 1945. The Soviet Union never returned them to the United States.[2]
After World War II, the United States transferred Admirable-class minesweepers to the Republic of China Navy, the Republic of Chinas Chinese Maritime Customs Service, the Republic of Korea Navy, the Republic of Vietnam Navy, and the Dominican, Mexican, Myanmar, and Philippine navies.
survives as a museum ship on dry land in Omaha, Nebraska. was a museum ship on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, until she sank during the Great Flood of 1993. was scuttled off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico in 1999. It is now a popular site for scuba diving.
Production
- Tampa Shipbuilding Company, Tampa, FL (24)
- Willamette Iron and Steel Works, Portland, OR (23)
- Savannah Machine & Foundry, GA (9)
- Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company, Puget Sound, WA (13)
- Gulf Shipbuilding Madisonville, LA (16)
- General Engineering & Dry Dock Company, Alameda, CA (7)
- Associated Shipbuilders, Puget Sound, WA (14)
- American Ship Building Company, Lorain, OH (17)
Engines
- Two 855shp ALCO 539 diesel engines, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. (30)
- Two 855shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts (84)
- AM-214 ... AM-226, AM-232 ... AM-235, AM-240 ... AM-242
- AM-246 ... AM-291, AM-294 ... AM-311
- Two 855shp Busch-Sulzer 539 diesel engines, Farrel Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts (9)
- AM-356, AM-357, AM-359, AM-361 ... AM-366
- ref:[3]
See also
References
(http://shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/minesweepers1.htm
- http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/willamette.htm
- http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/tasco.htm
- http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/savannah.htm
Notes and References
- Book: Gardiner. Robert. Chesneau. Roger. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. 1980. Conway Maritime Press. London. 0-85177-146-7. 151.
- Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997,, pp. 12, 35, 37–38, 39.
- individual ship navsource.org pages. Two 1,710shp engines is assumed to be incorrectly summed
