USS Pirate & another Admirable-class minesweeper | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Pirate |
Builder | Gulf Shipbuilding Company |
Laid down | 1 July 1943 |
Launched | 16 December 1943 |
Commissioned | 16 June 1944 |
Decommissioned | 6 November 1946 |
Recommissioned | 14 August 1950 |
Fate | Sunk by mine, 12 October 1950 off Wonsan, Korea (now in North Korea) |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Admirable-class minesweeper |
Displacement | 625 tons |
Length | 184 ft 6 in (56.24 m) |
Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 14.8 kn (27.4 km/h) |
Complement | 104 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Victories: | |
Awards: | 4 Battle stars |
USS Pirate (AM-275) 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 North Atlantic Ocean and then in the Pacific Ocean. She was returned to active service for the Korean War. During Operation Wonsan she struck a mine and sunk. For her dangerous work, she was awarded four battle stars for her Korean War effort.
The second U.S. Navy warship named USS Pirate, she was laid down 1 July 1943 by Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chickasaw, Alabama, launched 16 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Clara L. Oliver and commissioned 16 June 1944.
That summer, Pirate operated in and around Casco Bay and Boston, Massachusetts; conducted ASW exercises with Italian submarine Vortice and with Task Group TG 23.9 in early-August, and later that month swept the channel from Boston to Provincetown, Massachusetts. In December she transferred to Miami, Florida, where she was school ship for student officers for the next four months.
Pirate got underway from Miami 4 April 1945 to transit the Panama Canal, stopping at San Diego, California, and proceeding on to Pearl Harbor for duty. She departed Pearl Harbor and proceeded with MinDiv 32 via Eniwetok to Apra Harbor, Guam 7 June. As Allied forces made the final drive on Okinawa, Pirate reported at Nakagusuku Bay 26 June. In September she was minesweeping in area "Arcadia", in and around Jinsen, Korea, and operated off the northern coast of Formosa in November.
Decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington on 6 November 1946, the ship reported to ServPac in December 1947 for deployment in Japanese waters. In a caretaker status, she retained this status, out of service in reserve for the next several years
In July 1950, Pirate was with MinDiv 32, ServPac when hostilities in Korea called her back into active service. Recommissioned 14 August 1950 at Yokosuka, Japan, she departed Sasebo 8 September for duties off Pusan, Korea.
On 12 October she and USS Pledge (AM-277) were mine sweeping three miles off the enemy-held island of Sin-Do when the ships hit mines. Sinking within five minutes, Pirate had 12 sailors missing and one dead.
Attempts were made to salvage Pirate but failed so explosives were placed in her wreck and detonated to prevent North Korean forces from recovering any classified material. [1] Additional aircraft and boats from other nearby warships arrived at the area after the action to help in the rescue operations. [2]
USS Pirate, Pledge and Redhead each received the Presidential Unit Citation and their commanders were awarded the Silver Star for bravery. USS Partridge was mined off Wonsan on February 2 and became the last American vessel to be destroyed during operations in that area. Sometime in 1952, Lieutenant McMullen received an anonymous package containing Pirate's battle flag and on May 28, 1985, it was donated to the Naval Historical Center and is on display at the Korean War exhibit. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Pirate received four battle stars for Korean War service.
The third USS Rochester (CA-124), an Oregon City-class heavy cruiser, was laid down 29 May 1944 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Massachusetts; launched 28 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. M. Herbert Eisenhart, wife of the president of Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, New York; and commissioned 20 December 1946 at the Boston Navy Yard.
USS Defense (AM-317) 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 Surfbird (AM-383) was an Auk-class minesweeper built during World War II for the United States Navy. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the surfbird.
USS Lucid (AM-458/MSO-458) is an Aggressive-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing naval mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships. She was launched soon after the Korean War, sailed on five Western Pacific (Westpac) cruises and served four tours in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Lucid was decommissioned at the end of 1970 and placed in mothballs after only 15 years of service, as the Vietnam War was winding down and there was no longer a need for a large fleet of minesweepers. She was purchased by civilians and served as a houseboat for ten years, before being sold again in 1986 and used as a warehouse by a scrap metal dealer on Bradford Island, in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The scrap metal dealer was murdered in 2004 over a property dispute, and in 2005, Lucid was acquired by a foundation seeking to save a ship of its class. In 2011, the ship was moved to the Stockton Maritime Museum to be restored for use as a museum ship. Lucid is the last Aggressive-class minesweeper afloat in the United States.
The Blockade of Wonsan, or the Siege of Wonsan, from February 16, 1951 to July 27, 1953, during the Korean War, was the longest naval blockade in modern history, lasting 861 days. UN naval forces, primarily from the United States, successfully kept the strategically important city of Wonsan from being used by the North Korean Navy.
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 Redstart (AM-378/MSF-378) was an Auk-class minesweeper commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. Her task, as a fleet minesweeper, was to clear mines as the fleet proceeded into battle areas.
USS Ruddy (AM-380) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the North American ruddy duck.
USS Swift (AM-122) 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 Toucan (AM-387) 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. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the toucan, a brightly colored and easily tamed bird of the American tropics, characterized by its large but thin beak.
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 Shoveler (AM-382) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. 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.
USS Chief (AM-315) 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, and named after the word "chief," the head or leader of a group.
USS Waxbill (MHC-50/AMCU-50/AMS-39/YMS-479/PCS-1456) was a YMS-1-class minesweeper of the YMS-446 subclass acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines placed in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Kite was a YMS-1-class minesweeper of the YMS-135 subclass built for the United States Navy during World War II.
USS Hamilton County (LST-802) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after counties in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Incredible (AM-249) 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 North Atlantic Ocean and then in the Pacific Ocean. She returned finished the war with two battle stars to her credit. When she was recalled for duty in the Korean War, she returned home again with four more battle stars.
USS Mockingbird (AMS-27/YMS-419) was a YMS-1-class minesweeper of the YMS-135 subclass built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second U.S. Navy ship to be named Mockingbird.
USS Redhead (AMS-34/YMS-443) was a YMS-1-class minesweeper of the YMS-135 subclass built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for the Redhead duck.