USS Ellyson (DD-454/DMS-19), a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Theodore Gordon Ellyson, a submariner who became the first officer of the U.S. Navy to be designated a naval aviator.
USS Emmons (DD-457/DMS-22) was a Gleaves-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral George F. Emmons (1811–1884).
USS Earle (DD-635/DMS-42), a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Ralph Earle.
"Destroyer minesweeper" was a designation given by the United States Navy to a series of destroyers that were converted into high-speed ocean-going minesweepers for service during World War II. The hull classification symbol for this type of ship was "DMS." Forty-two ships were so converted, beginning with USS Dorsey (DD-117), converted to DMS-1 in late 1940, and ending with USS Earle (DD-635), converted to DMS-42 in mid-1945. The type is now obsolete, its function having been taken over by purpose-built ships, designated as "minesweeper (high-speed)" with the hull classification symbol MMD.
USS Pledge (AM-277) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and then was transferred to the North Pacific Ocean. She survived the world war and was awarded one battle star, but, during the Korean War, she struck a mine and was sunk. She received the Presidential Unit Citation for her Korean service.
USS Impeccable (AM-320) was an Auk-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was originally ordered as HMS Brutus (BAM-7) for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy under Lend-Lease, but was acquired and renamed by the United States Navy before construction began. She was commissioned in 1944 and served in the Pacific before being decommissioned in 1947. After the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Impeccable was recommissioned in 1952 and served off Korea through 1952. She was decommissioned for the final time in October 1955 and placed in reserve. She was sold for scrapping in 1974.
USS Starling (AM-64) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Competent (AM-316/MSF-316) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy. Competent was a U.S. Navy oceangoing minesweeper, named after the word "competent", meaning adequate, capable, or fit.
The second USS Ardent (AM-340) was a Auk-class minesweeper in the United States Navy.
USS Spear (AM-322) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Staunch (AM-307) was a steel-hulled Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her crew was quickly trained in the art of minesweeping and then sent to the Pacific Ocean to clear dangerous mine fields so that Allied troops could land on Japanese-held beaches. Because of her courageous work under fire, she was awarded four battle stars.
USS Specter (AM-306) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was originally ordered, laid down, and launched as USS Spector (AM-306), but was renamed the correctly spelled Specter in March 1944. She was awarded four battle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II. She was decommissioned in 1946 and placed in reserve. While she remained in reserve, Specter was reclassified as MSF-306 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In April 1973, she was sold to the Mexican Navy and renamed ARM DM-04. In 1994 she was renamed ARM General Manuel E. Rincón (C52). She was stricken in July 2001, but her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.
USS Spectacle (AM-305) was a steel-hulled Admirable class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. A trained crew boarded the new vessel, practiced with her minesweeping gear, and then proceeded to the Pacific Ocean to clear mines from Japanese beaches so that Allied forces could invade. While performing this dangerous task of mine clearance, a Japanese plane strafed her, and another deliberately crashed into her. When she returned to the United States, her battle damage was so severe that the U.S. Navy decided to scrap, rather than to repair, her. She was awarded two battle stars.
USS Inflict (AM-251) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II to clear offshore minefields and served the Navy in both the North Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. At war's end, she returned home with three battle stars to her credit.
USS Rebel (AM-284) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was awarded four battle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II. She was decommissioned in June 1946 and placed in reserve. While she remained in reserve, Rebel was reclassified as MSF-284 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In October 1962, she was sold to the Mexican Navy and renamed ARM DM-14. In 1994 she was renamed ARM Cadete Fernando Montes de Oca (C57). She was stricken in July 2001, but her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.
USS Recruit (AM-285) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was awarded 3 battle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II. She was decommissioned in August 1946 and placed in reserve. While she remained in reserve, Recruit was reclassified as MSF-285 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In 1963, she was sold to the Mexican Navy and renamed ARM DM-07. Although she is reported out of service, her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.
USS Skirmish (AM-303) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She received four battle stars during World War II. She was decommissioned in December 1945 and placed in reserve. In February 1955, while still in reserve, her hull number was changed from AM-303 to MSF-303, but she was not reactivated. She was transferred to the Dominican Republic in January 1965 and renamed Separación (BM455). She was employed as a patrol vessel in Dominican Navy service and renamed Prestol Botello in 1976. Her pennant number was changed from BM454 to C454 during a 1995 refit. As of 2007, Prestol Botello remained in active service for the Dominican Navy.
USS PGM-17 was a PGM-9-class motor gunboat built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was laid down and launched as USS PC-1189, a PC-461-class submarine chaser, but was renamed and reclassified before her November 1944 commissioning. She ran aground near Okinawa in May 1945. She was salvaged a month later, but was never repaired. She was towed to deep water and sunk in October 1945.
USS PGM-18 was a PGM-9-class motor gunboat built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was built and originally commissioned as USS PC-1255, a PC-461-class submarine chaser, and was decommissioned and converted in late 1944. USS PGM-18 struck a mine off the coast of Okinawa in April 1945; 13 men lost their lives when PGM-18 sank.
USS PGM-9 was a PGM-9-class motor gunboat in service with the United States Navy during World War II.
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