USS Candid

Last updated
USS Candid (AM-154).jpg
USS Candid off San Francisco, 1 February 1944
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Candid (AMc-131)
Builder Willamette Iron and Steel Works
ReclassifiedAM-154, 21 February 1942
Laid down27 April 1942
Launched14 October 1942
Commissioned31 October 1943
Decommissioned17 August 1945 [1]
FateTransferred to Soviet Navy 17 August 1945
ReclassifiedMSF-154, 7 February 1955
Stricken1 January 1983
History
Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svgSoviet Union
NameT-283 [2]
Acquired17 August 1945
Commissioned17 August 1945 [1]
FateStricken 1958 [3]
General characteristics
Class and type Admirable-class minesweeper
Displacement650 tons
Length184 ft 6 in (56.24 m)
Beam33 ft (10 m)
Draft9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Propulsion
Speed14.8 knots (27.4 km/h)
Complement104
Armament
Service record
Part of:

USS Candid (AM-154) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and served after that in the Soviet Navy as T-283.

Contents

Construction and commissioning

Originally classified as a "coastal minesweeper," AMc-131, Candid was reclassified as a "minesweeper," AM-154, on 21 February 1942. She was launched on 14 October 1942 at Portland, Oregon, by Willamette Iron and Steel Works and commissioned on 31 October 1943.

Service history

Candid departed San Francisco, California, on 28 February 1944 for duty in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. Called upon to escort convoys and conduct patrols as well as to sweep for mines, she sailed through stormy waters to fog-bound ports in the Aleutian Islands, supporting United States Army units on the isolated islands and backing up U.S. Navy attacks on the Kuril Islands of northern Japan. She returned to San Francisco on 18 August 1944, and two weeks later got underway for the Marshall Islands for operations there and in the Mariana Islands, providing local escort services in support of the consolidation of these islands and their development as bases for naval and air strikes against the Japanese.

On 16 April 1945, Candid got underway for Seattle, Washington and an overhaul. Selected for transfer to the Soviet Navy in Project Hula a secret program for the transfer of U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay, Alaska, in anticipation of the Soviet Union joining the war against Japan she departed Seattle in the summer of 1945 after the completion of her overhaul and proceeded to Cold Bay to begin familiarization training for her new Soviet crew. [4]

Soviet Navy, 1945-1958

Following the completion of training for her Soviet crew, Candid was decommissioned on 17 August 1945 [1] at Cold Bay and transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease immediately. [1] Also commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately, [1] she was designated as a tralshik ("minesweeper") and renamed T-283 [2] in Soviet service. She soon departed Cold Bay bound for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Soviet Union, where she served in the Soviet Far East. [4]

In February 1946, the United States began negotiations for the return of ships loaned to the Soviet Union for use during World War II, and on 8 May 1947, United States Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal informed the United States Department of State that the United States Department of the Navy wanted 480 of the 585 combatant ships it had transferred to the Soviet Union for World War II use returned. Deteriorating relations between the two countries as the Cold War broke out led to protracted negotiations over the ships, and by the mid-1950s the U.S. Navy found it too expensive to bring home ships that had become worthless to it anyway. Many ex-American ships were merely administratively "returned" to the United States and instead sold for scrap in the Soviet Union, while the U.S. Navy did not seriously pursue the return of others because it viewed them as no longer worth the cost of recovery. [5] The Soviet Union never returned Candid to the United States, although the U.S. Navy reclassified her as a "fleet minesweeper" (MSF) and redesignated her MSF-154 on 7 February 1955.

Disposal

The Soviet Navy struck T-283 from its vessel register in 1958. [3] Unaware of her fate, the U.S. Navy kept Candid on its Naval Vessel Register until finally striking her on 1 January 1983.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Admirable</i> Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Admirable (AM-136) was the lead ship of her class of minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. In commission from 1943 to 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Navy in 1945 and served as T-331 until stricken in 1958.

USS <i>Sandusky</i> (PF-54) Tacoma-class patrol frigate

USS Sandusky (PF-54), a Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1944 to 1945, was the second United States Navy ship of the name and the first to be named for Sandusky, Ohio. She later served in the Soviet Navy as EK-7 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Nire (PF-7), Nire (PF-287) and as YAC-19.

USS <i>Allentown</i> Tacoma-class patrol frigate

USS Allentown (PF-52), a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1944 to 1945, has thus far been the only U.S. Navy ship to be named for Allentown, Pennsylvania. She later served in the Soviet Navy as EK-9 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Ume (PF-9), JDS Ume (PF-289) and as YAC-14.

USS Adopt (AMc-114/AM-137/MSF-137) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Navy under Lend-Lease as T-332.

USS Barrier (AM-150) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union, serving in the Soviet Navy after that as T-335.

USS Bombard (AM-151) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union, serving after that in the Soviet Navy as T-336.

USS Bond (AM-152) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and served after that in the Soviet Navy as T-285 and as BRN-37.

USS Augury (AM-149) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Navy, in which she served as T-334.

USS Astute (AM-148) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Navy, in which she served as T-333.

USS Capable (AM-155) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and then served in the Soviet Navy as T-339.

USS Captivate (AM-156) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and then served in the Soviet Navy as T-338.

USS Caravan (AM-157) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and after that served in the Soviet Navy as T-337.

USS Caution (AM-158) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and after that served in the Soviet Navy as T-284.

USS <i>Disdain</i> (AM-222) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Disdain (AM-222) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. She was transferred to the Soviet Union in 1945 and after that served in the Soviet Navy as T-271.

USS Fancy (AM-234) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and served in the Soviet Navy after that as T-272 and Vyuga.

USS Indicative (AM-250) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and served in the Soviet Navy as T-273. The Soviets converted her into a naval trawler in 1948 and renamed her Tsiklon.

USS Marvel (AM-262) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and then served in the Soviet Navy as T-272. The Soviets converted her into a naval trawler in 1948 and renamed her Passat.

USS Method (AM-264) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and served in the Soviet Navy after that as T-276. The Soviets converted her into a whalecatcher in 1948 and renamed her Purga.

USS Mirth (AM-265) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and served in the Soviet Navy after that as T-277. The Soviets converted her into a naval trawler in 1948 and renamed her Musson.

USS Nucleus (AM-268) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Union and after that served in the Soviet Navy as T-278. The Soviets converted her into a naval trawler in 1948 and renamed her Uragan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsCandid article states that the U.S. Navy decommissioned Candid on 16 August 1945, and NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive Candid (MSF 154) ex-AM-154 ex-AMc-131 and hazegray.org Candid repeat this. However, more recent research in Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, ISBN   0-945274-35-1, p. 39, which includes access to Soviet-era records unavailable during the Cold War, indicates that the U.S. decommissioning date of Project Hula ships was the same as that of the date of transfer and of their Soviet Navy commissioning see photo captions on p. 24 regarding the transfers of various large infantry landing craft (LCI(L)s) and information on p. 27 about the transfer of USS Coronado (PF-38), which Russell says typified the transfer process which in Candid's case was 17 August 1945. As sources, Russell cites Department of the Navy, Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels Volume II, 1 January 1949, (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Washington, DC: Bureau of Ships, 1949; and Berezhnoi, S. S., Flot SSSR: Korabli i suda lendliza: Spravochnik ("The Soviet Navy: Lend-Lease Ships and Vessels: A Reference"), St. Petersburg, Russia: Belen, 1994. Apparently, Candid's U.S. Navy decommissioning, transfer, and Soviet Navy commissioning all occurred simultaneously in a single ceremony on 17 August 1945.
  2. 1 2 NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive Candid (MSF 154) ex-AM-154 ex-AMc-131 and hazegray.org Candid state that Candid was named T-594 in Soviet service, but more recent research in Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, ISBN   0-945274-35-1, pp. 39-40, which includes access to Soviet-era records unavailable during the Cold War, finds that the ship's Soviet name was T-283, while an auxiliary motor minesweeper, the former USS YMS-139, also transferred in 1945, had the Soviet name T-594. As sources, Russell cites Department of the Navy, Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels Volume II, 1 January 1949, (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Washington, DC: Bureau of Ships, 1949; and Berezhnoi, S. S., Flot SSSR: Korabli i suda lendliza: Spravochnik ("The Soviet Navy: Lend-Lease Ships and Vessels: A Reference"), St. Petersburg, Russia: Belen, 1994.
  3. 1 2 NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive Candid (MSF 154) ex-AM-154 ex-AMc-131 and hazegray.org Candid state that the ship allegedly was scrapped in 1956, but more recent research in Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, ISBN   0-945274-35-1, p. 39, reports that the ship's Soviet name was T-283 and states that T-283 was stricken in 1958. As sources, Russell cites Department of the Navy, Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels Volume II, 1 January 1949, (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Washington, DC: Bureau of Ships, 1949; and Berezhnoi, S. S., Flot SSSR: Korabli i suda lendliza: Spravochnik ("The Soviet Navy: Lend-Lease Ships and Vessels: A Reference"), St. Petersburg, Russia: Belen, 1994. Russell, p. 40., also states that T-594 a Soviet name previously attributed to Candid but now identified as belonging to the former USS YMS-139 was scrapped in 1955, probably explaining some of the confusion over the fate of T-283, although this does not explain the assertion that T-594 was probably scrapped in the following year.
  4. 1 2 Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, ISBN   0-945274-35-1, p. 39.
  5. Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, ISBN   0-945274-35-1, pp. 37-38, 39.