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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSStrength |
| Builder | Associated Shipbuilders |
| Laid down | 4 October 1943 |
| Launched | 28 March 1944 |
| Commissioned | 30 September 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 19 July 1946 |
| Reclassified | MSF-309, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 April 1967 |
| Fate | Sunk as an artificial reef, 1987 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Admirable-classminesweeper |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 184 ft 6 in (56.24 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.8 knots (27.4 km/h) |
| Complement | 104 |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Operations: | |
| Awards: | 3Battle stars |
USSStrength (AM-309) was a metal-hulledAdmirable-classminesweeper built for theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. She received training in the United States before being sent directly to thePacific Ocean to clear minefields so that Allied forces could proceed to beaches held by forces of theEmpire of Japan. While performing this dangerous task, she was also attacked by Japanese planes and narrowly avoided beingtorpedoed. For her courageous actions in the war zone, she was awarded threebattle stars.
She was laid down on 4 October 1943 byAssociated Shipbuilders,Seattle, Washington; launched on 28 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. H. W. McCurdy; and commissioned on 30 September 1944.
Strength completed fitting out at Seattle, Washington, sailed withStrategy on 20 October forSan Pedro, California, and held hershakedown in the harbor ofLos Angeles, California. After training at the Sound School inSan Diego, California, the ship returned to San Pedro and got under-way on 3 December forHawaii, arriving atPearl Harbor on 10 December 1944.Strength was assigned toMine Division 36 and began training with that unit atLahaina Roads,Maui, rehearsing for the forthcoming invasion ofIwo Jima.
On 22 January 1945,Strength got underway forUlithi withTask Group 51,LST Flotilla One in the screen for Tractor Group Able. The ships remained there from 3 to 5 February before steaming for theMarianas where final staging for the assault on Iwo Jima was held.Strength was detached from the screen to rejoin the other minesweepers of her division and they departed for theVolcanoes on the 13th
Strength arrived off Iwo Jima on 16 February and began sweeping operations to clear the way for the invasionfleet which arrived three days later. She continued sweeping operations andantisubmarine patrols until the end of the month when she steamed toSaipan. Her division sailed for theCarolines and arrived at Ulithi the next day.
Strength and her sister ships sortied for theRyūkyūs on 19 March. They began sweeping mines from theKerama Retto area on 25 March in preparation for the assault the next day. On 26 March, a partially surfaced midgetsubmarine was sighted at 1118 hours. Fourtorpedoes were fired atStrength. Two passed underneath her, and two sped by astern. She opened fire with her secondary batteries, but no damage was ascertained. She then assisted in clearing the approaches to the beaches offOkinawa for the impending assault on that island which began on 1 April. The Japanese launched their heaviest air attack bysuicide planes against the American fleet on 6 April. One chose the minesweeper for its target, but her gunners set it afire, and it splashed several hundred yards astern.Strength, operated off Okinawa until retiring to Ulithi for repairs. She reached thelagoon on 24 May and remained for a month awaiting parts. Once the repairs had been completed, the minesweeper was assigned antisubmarine patrol in the waters surrounding Ulithi.
Strength was at Ulithi when the Japanese ceased hostilities. She sailed for Okinawa on 4 September and operated from 8 September until ordered toSasebo where she rejoined her division. They swept known minefields betweenKyūshū and Korea until early December.Strength was ordered to return to the United States, and she sailed from Sasebo on 10 December. She refueled at Ulithi, called at Pearl Harbor on 28 December 1945, and arrived at San Diego on 12 January 1946. The ship was routed onward to theEast Coast for final disposition.
Strength arrived atGalveston, Texas, on 10 February and began a pre-inactivation overhaul. She moved toOrange, Texas, on 16 May and was assigned to theU.S. 16th Fleet. The ship was placed out of commission in reserve, on 19 July 1946. On 7 February 1955,Strength was reclassified MSF-309.Strength was struck from theNavy List on 1 April 1967.
Strength received three battle stars for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
