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WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN
Aggressive Class Minesweeper: Laid down, 31 October 1952 as Vital (AM-474) by the Burger Boat Co.,
Manitowoc, Wisc.; Launched, 12 August 1953; Redesignated an Ocean Minesweeper MSO-474, 7 February 1955; Commissioned USS Vital
(MSO-474), 9 June 1955 at Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, MA; Decommissioned, 22 September 1972; Struck from the Naval Register
in September 1977; Sold for scrapping, 21 July 1979 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to Union Minerals and
Alloys Corp., New York, NY for $25,250.
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, later updated
with SQQ-14 sonar. MSOs were capable of sweeping for moored, bottom contact, magnetic and acoustic mines.
| Call Sign |
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| November Sierra November Romeo |
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 thie excellent minesweeper book please visit CDR Bruhn's website at the link below.
David Bruhn
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