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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Mirth (MSF 265)
ex-AM-265



Call sign: November - Papa - Charlie - November



Mirth served the Navies of the United States and the Soviet Union
Admirable Class Minesweeper:

  • Laid down 31 July 1943 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, OH
  • Launched 24 December 1943
  • Commissioned USS Mirth (AM 265), 12 August 1944
  • Decommissioned 20 May 1945
  • Transferred to the Soviet Union 21 May 1945 at Cold Bay, AK and reclassified T-277
  • Assigned to the Pacific Fleet 22 June 1945
  • Participated in the landing at Gensan (Wonsan), Korea 21 August 1945
  • Transferred 24 June 1947 to the Ministry of Transport and converted into a whaling vessel
  • Transferred to "Glavpromorrybprom" 7 August 1948 and named Monsoon
  • Reclassified by U.S. Navy as a Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull), MSF-265, 7 February 1955
  • Scrapped in the early 1960s
  • Struck from the Navy Register 1 January 1983.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 945 t. (fl)
  • Length 184' 6"
  • Beam 33'
  • Draft 9' 9"
  • Speed 14.8 kts.
  • Complement 104
  • Armament: One 3"/50 cal. dual purpose mount, one twin 40mm gun mount, six 20mm gun mounts, one depth charge projector (hedgehogs), four depth charge projectors (K-guns), and two depth
    charge tracks
  • Propulsion: Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    American Ship Building
    110225510    		 2.29k The Mirth (AM-265) was built in the American Ship Building Company yards in Lorain, Ohio. Photo courtesy of theshipyards.com
    Commanding Officers
    01LT Milton Albert Rusteen, USNR12 August 1944 - 13 March 1945
    02LT John Francis Maddox, Jr., USNR13 March 1945 - 20 May 1945
    Courtesy of Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and R. A. Moody
    View the Mirth (MSF 265)
    DANFS History entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Naval Minewarfare Association
    Association of Minemen
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