 USSPirate & another Admirable-class minesweeper | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSPirate |
| Builder | Gulf Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | 1 July 1943 |
| Launched | 16 December 1943 |
| Commissioned | 16 June 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 6 November 1946 |
| Recommissioned | 14 August 1950 |
| Fate | Sunk by mine, 12 October 1950 offWonsan,Korea (now inNorth Korea) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Admirable-classminesweeper |
| Displacement | 625 tons |
| Length | 184 ft 6 in (56.24 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 14.8 kn (27.4 km/h) |
| Complement | 104 |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Victories: | |
| Awards: | 4Battle stars |
USS Pirate (AM-275) was anAdmirable-classminesweeper built for theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the NorthAtlantic Ocean and then in thePacific Ocean. She was returned to active service for theKorean War. During Operation Wonsan she struck a mine and sunk. For her dangerous work, she was awarded fourbattle stars for herKorean War effort.
The second U.S. Navywarship namedUSSPirate, she was laid down 1 July 1943 byGulf 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 aroundCasco Bay andBoston, Massachusetts; conductedASW exercises with ItaliansubmarineVortice and withTask Group TG 23.9 in early-August, and later that month swept the channel from Boston toProvincetown, Massachusetts. In December she transferred toMiami, Florida, where she was school ship for student officers for the next four months.
Pirate got underway from Miami 4 April 1945 to transit thePanama Canal, stopping atSan Diego, California, and proceeding on toPearl Harbor for duty. She departed Pearl Harbor and proceeded withMinDiv 32 viaEniwetok toApra Harbor,Guam 7 June. As Allied forces made the final drive on Okinawa,Pirate reported atNakagusuku Bay 26 June. In September she was minesweeping in area "Arcadia", in and aroundJinsen, Korea, and operated off the northern coast ofFormosa in November.
Decommissioned atBremerton, Washington on 6 November 1946, the ship reported toServPac 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 withMinDiv 32,ServPac when hostilities in Korea called her back into active service. Recommissioned 14 August 1950 atYokosuka, Japan, she departedSasebo 8 September for duties offPusan, Korea.
On 12 October she andUSS Pledge (AM-277) were mine sweeping three miles off the enemy-held island ofSin-Do when the ships hit mines. Sinking within five minutes,Pirate had 12 sailors missing and one dead.
Attempts were made to salvagePirate but failed so explosives were placed in her wreck and detonated to prevent North Korean forces from recovering any classified material.[1] Additional aircraft and boats from other nearby warships arrived at the area after the action to help in the rescue operations.[2]
USSPirate,Pledge andRedhead each received thePresidential Unit Citation and their commanders were awarded theSilver Star for bravery.USS Partridge 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 containingPirate's battle flag and on May 28, 1985, it was donated to theNaval Historical Center and is on display at the Korean War exhibit.[3][4][5][6]
Pirate received four battle stars for Korean War service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1950 | |
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