 Competent (third ship from right) among six other minesweepers and mothership LST-735. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | HMSAmelia (BAM-3) |
| Builder | General Engineering & Dry Dock Company,Alameda, California |
| Laid down | 19 August 1942 |
| Launched | 30 January 1943 |
| Renamed | USSCompetent (AM-315), 23 January 1943 |
| Commissioned | 10 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 30 January 1947 |
| Recommissioned | 29 February 1952 |
| Reclassified | MSF-316, 7 February 1955 |
| Decommissioned | 15 April 1955 |
| Stricken | 1972 |
| Honors and awards |
|
| Fate | Sold to Mexico, September 1972 |
| History | |
 Mexico | |
| Name | ARMPonciano Arriaga |
| Namesake | Ponciano Arriaga |
| Acquired | February 1973 |
| Reclassified | G04 |
| Stricken | 1988 |
| Fate | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Auk-class minesweeper |
| Displacement | 890 long tons (904 t) |
| Length | 221 ft 3 in (67.44 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Speed | 18knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 100 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSCompetent (AM-316/MSF-316) was anAuk-classminesweeper acquired by theUnited States Navy.Competent was a U.S. Navy oceangoing minesweeper, named after the word "competent", meaning adequate, capable, or fit.
HMSAmelia (BAM-3) was launched 30 January 1943 byGeneral Engineering and Dry Dock Co.,Alameda, California sponsored by Miss M. S. Upton; retained for use by the U.S. Navy; assigned the nameCompetent and reclassified AM-316, 23 January 1943; and commissioned 10 November 1943.
Competent arrived inPearl Harbor on 21 January 1944. Eight days later she departed to escort munitions carrierUSS Sangay (AE-10) toMajuro, whereCompetent swept mines and acted as harbor entrance control and pilot ship from 5 February to 31 March. Returning to Pearl Harbor 7 April she continued to escort convoys to theMarshalls until 15 July.Competent reachedPort Purvis onFlorida Island, in theSolomons, on 24 August for exercises in the area until 8 September when she sailed toKossol Passage to sweep and patrol the west entrance during the invasion ofPeleliu. She escorted aconvoy back to Port Purvis 13 October, and on 2 November departed for aU.S. West Coast overhaul.
On 8 April 1945Competent clearedSan Francisco, California, with a convoy bound forOkinawa. From her arrival 20 May she patrolled and screened the transports, then swept mines from 5 July to 25 August. During September she lay at Okinawa, then swept offChusanArchipelago during October. She operated out ofSasebo, Japan, on various duties in support of the occupation until 6 March 1946 when she cleared for San Francisco, California, arriving 21 April. She operated on the west coast until placed out of commission in reserve 30 January 1947 atPacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach.
Recommissioned 29 February 1952 as a result of theKorean War,Competent put to sea fromLong Beach, California, 7 July and arrived at Sasebo, Japan, 7 August. From this port she swept and patrolledKorean waters until returning to Long Beach, California 5 February 1953. During her second Far Eastern tour from 5 October 1953 to 2 June 1954, she patrolled withtask force TF 95 off Korea to preserve the truce.
Reclassified MSF-316, 7 February 1955,Competent operated along the west coast until she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 15 April 1955. After seventeen years in "mothballs", she was sold toMexico in September 1972. She served in theMexican Navy as ARMPonciano Arriaga until 1988.
Competent earned fivebattle stars forWorld War II service and twobattle stars for the Korean War.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
