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WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN
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| Ccourtesy of Robert McDougal |
Aggressive Class Minesweeper: Laid down, 25 May 1951 at Luders Marine Construction Co., Stamford,
Conn.; Launched, 4 October 1952; Commissioned USS Aggressive (AM-422), 20 November 1953 at Brooklyn Naval Station, NY; Redesignated
an Ocean Minesweeper, MSO-422, 7 February 1955; Decommissioned, 2 July 1971; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet; Struck from the
Naval Register, 28 February 1975; Sold for scrapping, 1 May 1980 to R. E. Williams, Torrance, CA for $44,000.
Specifications: Displacement 630 t.(lt), 755 t.(fl); Length 172'; Beam 35'; Draft 10'; Speed 14
kts; Complement 6 Officers, 74 Enlisted; Armament, as built, one single 40mm gun mount, two .50 cal machine guns, final configuration,
bow gun replaced by one twin 20mm gun mount, two .50 cal. machine guns remain; Propulsion, four Packard ID1700 diesel engines,
two shafts, two controllable pitch propellers.
These new minesweepers were smaller and built primarily of wood , with bronze and stainless (non-magnetic)
steel fittings to minimize their magnetic signature. All of the 1950 era MSOs had UQS-1 mine-locating sonar. MSOs were
capable of sweeping for moored, bottom contact, magnetic and acoustic mines.
| CALL SIGN |
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| NOVEMBER FOXTROT PAPA ZULU |
WOODEN SHIPS AND IRON MEN a book by CDR David D.Bruhn USN RET.The history of our MSO's from 1953
to 1994. To learn more about this excellent minesweeper book please visit CDR Bruhn's website at the link below.
David Bruhn
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