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MSO 508 Acme

Approximately the same size as, though with improved capabilities over, the Agile and Aggressive classes, these Naval Reserve Force ships performed the function of Mine Division flagships. During the Cold War the US mine warfare concept was designed around a European war scenario which relied on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to participate substantially in mine warfare operations.

The Navy's MCM capabilities in the Persian Gulf included the surface mine countermeasures (SMCM) capabilities of three 30-year-old USS Aggressive and USS Acme (MSO 422 and 508) class minesweepers. These minesweepers used the AN/SQQ-14 MCM sonar to detect bottom and moored mines and mechanical minesweeping gear to cut mine cables.

Two units of this class were stricken in the mid-1970s, to be sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, with the remaining two units similarly discarded in the mid-1990s.

Specifications

Displacement 818 tons (full load)
Length 173 feet
Beam 36 feet
Max Speed 14 knots
Power Plant 4 - Aluminum block Diesels; 2 shafts, 2,800 bhp
Aircraft None
Armament 2 - .50 cal twin machine guns
Complement NRF 57 - 5 officer, 52 enlisted
plus 25 reserves
Builders Frank L. Sample, Jr., Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Ships

Name Number Builder Homeport Ordered Commissioned Decommissioned
ACMEMSO 508
ADROITMSO 509Sample Little Creek25 Jun 195404 Mar 195708 May 1992
ADVANCEMSO 510
AFFRAYMSO 511SampleCharleston26 Jun 195408 Dec 195820 Dec 1992

Sources and Resources


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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/mso-508.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Thursday, March 04, 1999 1:21:06 PM