Surf Wiki
Save to docs
history

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

USS Pirate (AM-275)

Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Pirate (AM-275)
Summary

Minesweeper of the United States Navy

FieldValue
section1{{Infobox ship/image
imageUSSPirate&otherAdmirableClassMinesweeper.jpg
image_captionUSS Pirate & another Admirable-class minesweeper
section2{{Infobox ship/career
countryUnited States
flag
nameUSS Pirate
builderGulf Shipbuilding Company
laid_down1 July 1943
launched16 December 1943
commissioned16 June 1944
decommissioned6 November 1946
section3{{Infobox ship/career
hide_headeryes
recommissioned14 August 1950
fateSunk by mine, 12 October 1950 off Wonsan, Korea (now in North Korea)
section4{{Infobox ship/characteristics
class
displacement625 tons
length184 ft
beam33 ft
draft9 ft
propulsion*2 × ALCO 539 diesel engines, 1,710 shp (1.3 MW)
speed14.8 kn
complement104
armament*1 × 3"/50 caliber gun
section5{{Infobox ship/service record
partof*US Atlantic Fleet (1944-1945)
victories*World War II
awards4 Battle stars

  • Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear

  • 2 shafts

  • 2 × twin Bofors 40 mm guns

  • 6 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons

  • 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar

  • 4 × Depth charge projectors (K-guns)

  • 2 × Depth charge tracks

  • US Pacific Fleet (1945-1950)

    • Pacific Theater

  • Korean War 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.

History

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 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 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.

Aftermath

USS ''Pirate''{{'}}s battle flag at [[Washington Naval Yard

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. Additional aircraft and boats from other nearby warships arrived at the area after the action to help in the rescue operations.

USS Pirate, Pledge and Redhead each received the Presidential Unit Citation and their commanders were awarded the Silver Star for bravery. 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 Pirates battle flag and on May 28, 1985, it was donated to the Naval Historical Center and is on display at the Korean War exhibit.

Awards and honors

Pirate received four battle stars for Korean War service.

References

References

  1. "U.S.S. Pirate AM-275 Homepage". USS Pirate Historical Website.
  2. "C.O. Report". USS Pirate AM-275 Historical Website.
  3. http://www.koreanwar-educator.com/topics/casualties/p_ship_sinkings.htm{{dead link. (November 2010)
  4. (October 17, 1950). "Two U.S. Navy Minesweepers Sink After Striking Mines Off Korea". United States Navy.
  5. "Lieutenant Richard O. Young, USN; Commanding Officer of USS Pledge". United States Navy.
  6. "Lieutenant Commander Bruce M. Hyatt, USNR; Silver Star Award". United States Navy.
  7. "Lieutenant Cornelius E. Mc Mullen, USN, CO of USS Pirate". United States Navy.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

admirable-class-minesweepers world-war-ii-minesweepers-of-the-united-states korean-war-minesweepers-of-the-united-states ships-built-in-chickasaw,-alabama ships-sunk-by-mines maritime-incidents-in-1950 shipwrecks-in-the-sea-of-japan 1943-ships
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about USS Pirate (AM-275) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report