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 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 Ptarmigan (AM-376) 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 ptarmigan, a grouse with feathered feet, found in northern regions.
USS Murrelet (AM-372) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy to remove mines from minefields laid to prevent ships from passing. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the murrelet, a small sea bird found chiefly on islands in the northern Pacific Ocean.
USS Waxwing (AM-389) 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 waxwing, any of several American and Asiatic songbirds which are for the most part brown and are characterized by predominant crests and velvety plumage.
USS Oracle (AM-103) was an Auk-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was commissioned in May 1943 and decommissioned in May 1946. She was placed in reserve and remained there until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in December 1966. She was sunk as a target in 1967.
USS Roselle (AM-379) 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 second United States Navy warship to be so named.
USS Tanager (AM-385) 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 Peregrine (AM-373) was an Auk-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. She was named after the peregrine, a swift and powerful falcon.
The second USS Scoter (AM-381) 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. Scoter was named after the word "Scoter," which is a mercantile name retained during service in the United States Navy.
USS Pochard (AM-375) 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 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 Threat (AM-124) 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 Superior (AM-311) was a steel-hulled Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy in 1944. Superior participated in the final struggle in the Pacific Ocean against the Empire of Japan during the end of World War II and remained behind, after the war ended, to clear minefields laid during the war.
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 Opponent (AM-269) 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 before war’s end.
USS Climax (AM-161) 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 Pacific Ocean.
USS Implicit (AM-246) 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 finished the war with two battle stars to her credit.
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 home, finishing 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.
United States
