Minesweeper of the United States Navy
For other ships with the same name, see
USS Pivot
.
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| USS
Pivot
(AM-463)
|
Builder
| Wilmington Boat Works
|
Laid down
| 31 March 1952
|
Launched
| 9 January 1954
|
Commissioned
| 12 July 1954
|
Reclassified
| MSO-463, February 1956
|
Decommissioned
| 1 July 1971
|
Stricken
| 1 August 1974
|
Homeport
| Long Beach, California
|
Fate
| Sold to Spain, 1 August 1974
|
History
|
Spain
|
Name
| Guadalmedina
(M42)
|
Acquired
| 1 August 1974
|
Decommissioned
| 18 January 2001
|
Fate
| Unknown
|
Status
| Decommissioned
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Aggressive
-class minesweeper
|
Displacement
| 775 tons
|
Length
| 172 ft (52 m)
|
Beam
| 36 ft (11 m)
|
Draught
| 10 ft (3.0 m)
|
Speed
| 15 knots
|
Complement
| 65
|
Armament
| one
40 mm
mount
|
USS
Pivot
(AM-463/MSO-463)
was an
Aggressive
-class
minesweeper
acquired by the
U.S. Navy
for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
The second ship to be named
Pivot
by the Navy,
AM?463
was laid down 31 March 1952 by
Wilmington Boat Works
,
Wilmington, California
; launched 9 January 1954; sponsored by Mrs. Minor C. Heinl; and commissioned 12 July 1954.
West Coast operations
[
edit
]
Following
shakedown
in the
Long Beach
-
San Diego
area,
Pivot
became
flagship
of
Mine Division
93 at its establishment 6 December. On 8 January 1955, she participated in
Operation Rainbow
to begin her career in the
U.S. Pacific Fleet
and the following month was redesignated
MSO?463
.
WestPac deployments
[
edit
]
She operated along the
U.S. West Coast
until departing
Long Beach, California
, 2 June 1958 for the
Far East
for service with the
U.S. 7th Fleet
. During this deployment she attempted to assist
USS
Prestige
(MSO-465)
aground at
Naruto Kaikyo
, Japan; but ran aground herself during the daring operation in dangerous waters.
Pivot
managed to break free but
Prestige
was lost.
Awarded the Battle Efficiency “E”
[
edit
]
Returning to Long Beach 7 January 1959, the non-magnetic ocean minesweeper resumed operations along the
U.S. West Coast
establishing a pattern of alternating service off the Pacific seaboard with WestPac deployments in 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966 and 1968. During the 1962 deployment, she received the Battle Efficiency “E”.
Supporting Market Time operations
[
edit
]
Her last three deployments took
Pivot
to
Viet Nam
for
“Market Time” operations
, inspecting
junks
and other craft to stem the flow of Communist war material from the north into
South Viet Nam
. Her light draft, and her crew's high standard of
seamanship
suited the minesweeper ideally for this important service in support of freedom.
Pivot's last WESTPAC deployment, during which she served in Operation Market Time, first at the mouth of the Mekong River and then along the DMZ, was from February to September, 1970.
Pivot was decommissioned on 1 July 1971. Stricken from the Navy list 1 August 1974. She was sold to Spain effective the same day. Pivot was named Guadamedina (M42) in the Spanish Navy.
Decommissioning
[
edit
]
Pivot
was decommissioned on 1 July 1971. Stricken from the
Navy list
1 August 1974 she was sold to Spain effective the same day.
Pivot
was named
Guadamedina
(M42) in the
Spanish Navy
.
References
[
edit
]
This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
.
External links
[
edit
]