.jpg) USSPinnacle (MSO-462) circa 1965 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSPinnacle |
| Builder | Higgins Industries Inc.,New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Laid down | 24 August 1953 |
| Launched | 3 January 1955, as AM-462 |
| Commissioned | 21 October 1955 |
| Reclassified | MSO-462 (Ocean Minesweeper), 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 November 1977 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 1 May 1978 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Aggressive-classminesweeper |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 172 ft (52 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 6 officers and 74 enlisted men |
| Armament |
|
USSPinnacle (AM-462/MSO-462) was anAggressive-classminesweeper acquired by theU.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
Pinnacle was laid down 24 August 1953 as AM-462 byHiggins Industries Inc.,New Orleans, Louisiana and launched 3 January 1955. She was redesignated as an OceanMinesweeper, MSO-462, 7 February 1955 and commissioned on 21 October 1955.
Pinnacle was assigned toMinDiv 84 and completedshakedown inChesapeake Bay and post shakedown overhaul atCharleston, South Carolina, and in June 1956 began preparations for her first deployment to theMediterranean. Sailing east on 4 September, she visited the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, took part inNATO maneuvers in theNorth Sea then operated with theU.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean from 20 October to 21 January 1957.
On 6 February she returned to Charleston, South Carolina, then, through September, furnished services for theOffice of Naval Research. Overhaul and local operations followed and in May, 1958,Pinnacle again sailed for the Mediterranean.
Astension in the Middle East rose to a new height,Pinnacle steamed directly to the eastern Mediterranean and for most of that deployment cruised off theLevantine states. Between 1 August and 2 October she spent six weeks offBeirut as the 6th Fleet answeredLebanese PresidentCamille Chamoun's request for aid. En route home a series of engineering casualties resulted in the loss of the use of her main engines. Taken in tow byUSS Nimble (MSO-459), she arrived atCharleston, South Carolina, 3 November.
Overhaul, local operations andCaribbeanamphibious exercises took up 1959 and in January 1960,Pinnacle deployed to theMediterranean for another tour with theU.S. 6th Fleet. Returning in June, she resumed a series of local operations Mine Warfareschool ship duties andamphibious exercise in the Caribbean. In late January 1962 she steamed toCape Canaveral,Florida, to act as a back-up ship during theMercury 6 space shot. In April she reported for duty with theMine Defense Laboratory,Panama City, Florida, and after upkeep at the end of the summer sailed north to participate in joint U.S.-Canada exercises in the NorthAtlantic Ocean.
In May 1963,Pinnacle again deployed to the Mediterranean and into 1970 regularly rotated between duty with the 6th Fleet, local operations and training exercises off theeast coast, and extended deployment withamphibious forces in the Caribbean.Pinnacle participated in the recovery effort of thePalomares Incident in early 1966.Pinnacle was the first ship to locate the missing hydrogen bomb after making sonar contact.[1]
Pinnacle was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 November 1977; sold for scrapping on 1 May 1978 by theDefense Reutilization and Marketing Service to C. B. Herter ofHopewell, Virginia, for $26,491.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
