 Ransom in San Francisco Bay, California | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSRansom |
| Builder | General Engineering & Dry Dock Company,Alameda, California |
| Laid down | 24 April 1943 |
| Launched | 18 September 1943 |
| Commissioned | 5 August 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 3 March 1947 |
| Recommissioned | 16 March 1951 |
| Decommissioned | 22 September 1953 |
| Reclassified | MSF-283, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 May 1962 |
| Fate | Transferred toMexican Navy, 1962 |
| History | |
 Mexico | |
| Name | ARMDM-12 |
| Acquired | 1962 |
| Renamed | ARMTeniente Juan de la Barrera (C55), 1994[1] |
| Namesake | Juan de la Barrera |
| Stricken | 2000[1] |
| Fate | Intentionally sunk for artificial reef |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Admirable-class minesweeper |
| Displacement | 650 long tons (660 t) |
| 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 | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Complement | 104 |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Operations: | |
| Awards: | 3Battle stars |
USSRansom (AM-283) was anAdmirable-classminesweeper built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was awarded threebattle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II. She was decommissioned in March 1947 and placed in reserve. Although she did not see service in the war zone,Ransom was recommissioned in March 1951 during theKorean War and remained in commission until September 1953, when she was placed in reserve again. While she remained in reserve,Ransom was reclassified asMSF-283 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In 1962 she was sold to theMexican Navy and renamedARMDM-12. In 1994 she was renamedARMTeniente Juan de la Barrera (C55). She was stricken in 2000, but her ultimate fate is not reported insecondary sources.
Ransom was laid down 24 April 1943 byGeneral Engineering & Dry Dock Co.,San Francisco, California; launched 18 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Dwight H. Dexter and commissioned 5 August 1944. Aftershakedown off theCalifornia coast,Ransom got underway forHawaii 15 October and arrived atPearl Harbor a week later for escort duty back to the west coast and later toNaval Base Eniwetok,Naval Base Ulithi, andKossol Roads, arriving at the latter 12 January 1945. She then worked in theantisubmarine patrol screen offPeleliu.
From 1 to 18 February,Ransom acted as harbor entrance station vessel atKossol, and patrolled in screens between Kossol andPeleliu, before proceeding toUlithi to stage forOperation Iceberg. On 19 March she sailed for theRyukyus withtask unit TU 52.5.3 and, from 25 March to 18 April, she swept and patrolled in assigned areas aroundOkinawa despite heavy Japanese coastal and aerial resistance.
On 6 April,Ransom shot down three suicide aircraft while rescuing 52 survivors ofUSS Rodman (DMS-21) andUSS Emmons (DMS-22). The thirdkamikaze's bomb caused some minor damage toRansom. Relieved of sweeping duties 18 April,Ransom was assigned toantiaircraft andantisubmarine patrol. Although damaged on the 22nd by a bomb from a "Val" she had splashed 10 feet off her port quarter,Ransom continued to patrol through June.
On 4 JulyRansom resumed minesweeping operations. Throughout the month she operated in theEast China Sea, sweeping a total of seven mines, then, on 6 August, she retired toLeyte for overhaul and repair. Returning toOkinawa at the end of the month, she continued on to Japan withtask group TG 52.4, and on 9 September began sweeping mines atNagasaki. On 21 September, she shifted toBungo Suido, where she swept until the end of September. During the monthRansom swept 73 enemy mines.Ransom departedKure, Japan, for the United States 20 November. Transiting thePanama Canal 30 December 1945, she continued on toNew Orleans, Louisiana; underwent pre-inactivation overhaul; and decommissioned atOrange, Texas, 3 March 1947.
Berthed at Orange for the next four years,Ransom recommissioned 16 March 1951. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she operated out ofCharleston, South Carolina,Norfolk, Virginia, andYorktown, Virginia, through 1952. She then operated fromNew England to theCaribbean until decommissioned at Charleston in June 1953.
She arrived atOrange, Texas, 22 September and entered theAtlantic Reserve Fleet.Ransom was reclassified MSF-283 on 7 February 1955, and moved toFlorida in November 1958 where she remained until struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 May 1962. She was sold to Mexico in 1962.Ransom earned threebattle stars for World War II service.
The formerRansom was acquired by theMexican Navy in 1962 and renamed ARMDM-12. In 1994, she was renamed ARMTeniente Juan de la Barrera (C55) afterJuan de la Barrera. She was stricken in 2000,[1] and was intentionally sunk to make an artificial reef off the coast of Cancun. In 2005Hurricane Wilma hit the area and damaged the ransom and other local man made reefs. Depth is approximately 75 feet and has very little penetration on the back deck of the wreck. The rest of the wreck is just in pieces, but the stern can be appreciated resting to its left side.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
