Print Page

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
ACME MSO 508          
ADROIT MSO 509 Sample Little Creek 25 Jun 1954 04 Mar 1957 08 May 1992
ADVANCE MSO 510          
AFFRAY MSO 511 Sample Charleston 26 Jun 1954 08 Dec 1958 20 Dec 1992

Sources and Resources