MSO 422 Aggressive 

Overview 

These ocean going minesweepers were designed to counter North Korean mining during the Korean War. They were capable of sweeping for moored and bottom contact, magnetic and acoustic mines. During the 1987-88 Persian Gulf escort missions, active and reserve MSO's were dispatched to the Gulf. Both ships and crews performed extremely well in very demanding conditions, clearing hundreds of mines from the international waterway.

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.

All units of this class have been stricken, with some to be disposed of by the Security Assistance Program (SAP) for cash sale and others to be sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping. Some units were stricken and sold, but the Contractor defaulted and the ship was repossessed by the Navy to be resold.

Sources and Resources  >Return to Top

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• FY1996 Ships Class Average Report Navy Visibility and Management of Operating and Support Costs (VAMOSC)
• Agile class oceangoing minesweepers excerpt from Combat Fleets of the World, 1984/85
• AGGRESSIVE (MSO 422) - Naval Vessel Register
• Aggressive (MSO 422) - NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive