_underway_in_1956_(0018_101572).jpg) Fearless in 1956 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSFearless |
| Builder | Higgins Industries,New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Laid down | 23 July 1952 |
| Launched | 17 July 1953 |
| Commissioned | 22 September 1954, as AM-442 |
| Decommissioned | 23 October 1990 |
| Reclassified | MSO-442 (Ocean Minesweeper), 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 28 October 1990 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1 December 1992 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Aggressive-classminesweeper |
| Displacement | 853 long tons (867 t) full load |
| Length | 172 ft (52 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors & processing systems | AN/SQQ-14 mine countermeasures sonar |
| Armament |
|
USSFearless (AM/MSO-442) was anAggressive-classminesweeper. She was the thirdUnited States Navy ship to carry the name.
Fearless waslaunched on 17 July 1953 byHiggins, Inc.,New Orleans, Louisiana; sponsored by Mrs.A. J. Higgins, Jr.; andcommissioned on 22 September 1954. Authorized asAM-442; she was reclassified as an Ocean Minesweeper,MSO-442, 7 February 1955.
_underway_in_the_Mediterranean_Sea_c1988.jpeg)
WithCharleston, South Carolina as her home port,Fearless operated through 1960 on training operations, experiments and tests, and in exercises along the coast and in theCaribbean. Every other year from 1955 she sailed to theMediterranean for duty with the6th Fleet, joining inNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation exercises and visiting European ports. In the spring of 1956, she conducted joint exercises with ships of theRoyal Canadian Navy, and through that summer experimented withcontrollable pitch propellers and mine-countermeasures equipment at Charleston andPort Everglades,Florida.
In August 1987Fearless was towed byGrapple (ARS-53) to thePersian Gulf in support ofOperation Earnest Will, arriving in mid-September. Full scale mine countermeasures operations began in November of that year.Fearless remained in theatre at least into 1988, clearing mines in the Persian Gulf. Her eligible crew earned theArmed Forces Expeditionary Medal for her service.
Fearless operated out of Charleston, South Carolina during her entire career. She decommissioned on 23 October 1990, and was struck five days later. She was sold by theDefense Reutilization and Marketing Service for scrapping, 1 December 1992 to Seawitch Salvage,Baltimore,Maryland for $6,000.
Fearless received fourNavy "E" Ribbons, oneMeritorious Unit Commendation, oneNavy Unit Commendation and two Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendations during her career.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere. This article incorporatespublic domain material fromFearless (MSO-442) at theNaval Vessel Register.
