USS Minah (AMc-204)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Minah.

History

United States
Name:	USS PCS-1465
Ordered:	as PC-1465
Reclassified:	PCS-1465, 8 April 1943
Builder:	Astoria Marine Construction Co. Astoria, Oregon
Laid down:	17 June 1943
Launched:	December 1943
Commissioned:	15 February 1944
Renamed:	Minah (AMc-204), 10 January 1945
Namesake:	the myna bird (variant spelling)
Reclassified:	AMCU-14, 7 March 1952
Refit:	April 1952, New York Naval Shipyard
Reclassified:	MHC-14, 7 February 1955
Decommissioned:	September 1959
Struck:	1 November 1959
Honors and awards:	1 battle star, World War II
Fate:	Sold, 8 September 1960
General characteristics
Class & type:	PCS-1376-class minesweeper
Displacement:	280 tons
Length:	136 ft (41 m)
Beam:	23 ft 4 in (7.11 m)
Draft:	8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Propulsion:	Two 1,000bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, two shafts.
Speed:	14.1 knots (26.1 km/h)
Complement:	54
Armament:	1 × 3"/50 caliber gun mount 1 × 40 mm guns 4 × 20 mm guns 2 × depth charge tracks 2 × depth charge projectors 2 × rockets

USS PCS-1465 was a PCS-1376-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. Late in the war she was renamed and reclassified Minah (AMc-204), and in the 1950s reclassified first as AMCU-14 and later as MHC-14. Named for the myna under a variant spelling, she was the only U.S. Navy ship of that name.

History

PCS‑1465 was laid down 17 June 1943 by Astoria Marine Construction Co. of Astoria, Oregon; launched 27 December 1943; commissioned 15 February 1944, Lt. D. L. Case in command.

Assigned to commander western sea frontier, PCS‑1465 patrolled and trained off the west coast until late in December 1944. Sailing to Pearl Harbor she underwent conversion to an underwater location vessel and consequently 10 January 1945 was armed and redesignated Minah (AMc‑204).

Assigned to commander western sea frontier, PCS 1465 patrolled and trained off the west coast until late in December 1944. Sailing to Pearl Harbor she underwent conversion to an underwater location vessel and consequently 10 January 1945 was armed and redesignated Minah (AMc 204).

Following an appropriate training period she departed 7 July in company with other coastal minesweepers for Okinawa. While steaming beyond Saipan on the last leg of her voyage hositilities ceased. Peace focused attention on the need to clear harbor areas for the restoration of commerce and in Japan to gain access for the occupation forces. Operating until 8 September around the Okinawa area, Minah then sailed to Japan and assisted in clearing mines from Sasebo Harbor. Later steaming into Pusan, Korea, 5 October, she supervised Japanese minesweeping operations. While on this duty AMc-204 rescued the crew of a Japanese destroyer which struck a mine and sank and also employed her divers in checking previously sunken ships. Additional underwater location assignments were performed at Kure Harbor before departing Korean waters 15 January 1946.

En route to the United States Minah sailed via Bikini Atoll where from 8 to 25 March she helped prepare the area for the atomic testing of Operation Crossroads.

Arriving San Pedro, California, 15 May she was soon assigned to the Commander Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, and transferred her base of operations to Charleston, South Carolina, by 21 July. Demobilization policies curtailed the ship’s movements until April 1947 when she undertook a series of BuShips projects in the Norfolk and Yorktown areas. The following 4 years were spent assisting the Naval Mine Countermeasure Station at Panama City, Florida.

Redesignated AMCU-14 on 7 March 1952 Minah proceeded to New York Navy Yard in April, one of 31 minesweepers to be converted. Local operations out of Little Creek, Virginia, and Key West, Florida, preceded a final redesignation of MHC-14 on 7 February 1955. She engaged in projects of the Operational Development Force and saw service within the 6th Naval District before she decommissioned in Florida, September 1959. Briefly berthed with Atlantic Reserve Fleet, her name was stricken from the Navy list 1 November 1959. She was sold to William J. Kleb and removed from Naval custody 8 September 1960.

Awards and honors

USS Minah (AMc-204) received one battle star for her World War II service.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Photo gallery of Minah at NavSource Naval History
Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - AMc-204 USS Minah

PCS-1376-class minesweepers

PCS-1376 PCS-1377 PCS-1378 PCS-1379 PCS-1380 PCS-1381 PCS-1382 PCS-1383 PCS-1384 PCS-1385 PCS-1386 PCS-1387 PCS-1388 PCS-1389 PCS-1390 PCS-1391 PCS-1392 PCS-1393 PCS-1394 PCS-1395 PCS-1396 PCS-1397 PCS-1398 PCS-1399 PCS-1400 PCS-1401 PCS-1402 PCS-1403 PCS-1404 PCS-1405 PCS-1406 PCS-1407 PCS-1408 PCS-1409 PCS-1410 PCS-1411 PCS-1412 PCS-1413 PCS-1414 PCS-1415 PCS-1416 PCS-1417 PCS-1418 PCS-1419 PCS-1420 PCS-1421 PCS-1422 PCS-1423 PCS-1424 PCS-1425 PCS-1426 PCS-1427 PCS-1428 PCS-1429 PCS-1430 PCS-1431 PCS-1432 PCS-1433 PCS-1434 PCS-1435 PCS-1436 PCS-1437 PCS-1438 PCS-1439 PCS-1440 PCS-1441 PCS-1442 PCS-1443 PCS-1444 PCS-1445 PCS-1446 PCS-1447 PCS-1448 PCS-1449 PCS-1450 PCS-1451 PCS-1452 PCS-1453 PCS-1454 PCS-1455 PCS-1456 PCS-1457 PCS-1458 PCS-1459 PCS-1460 PCS-1461 PCS-1462 PCS-1463 PCS-1464 PCS-1465

List of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy

Harkness-class minehunters

Harkness James M. Gilliss Minah Bobolink Bunting Gull Merganser Redhead Sanderling Waxbill

List of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy

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