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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive


Right patch courtesy of Mike Smolinski

AM / MSO-491 Persistent


Persistent served the Navies of the United States and Spain.



Guadalquivir's call sign:
Echo - Bravo - Juliet - Alpha



Aggressive Class Minesweeper: Laid down, 17 June 1954 as AM-491 by the J. L. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma, WA; Reclassified as an Ocean Minesweeper (nonmagnetic) MSO-491, 7 February 1955; Launched, 23 April 1955; Commissioned USS Persistent (MSO 491), 3 February 1956; Decommissioned, 1 July 1971; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1974 and sold to Spain under the Security Assistance Program; Renamed Guadalquivir (M-43).
Fate unknown.

Specifications: Displacement 775 t; Length 172'; Beam 35'; Draft 12'; Speed 14 kts; Complement 8 Officers, 70 Enlisted; Armament, as built, one single 40mm gun mount, two .50 cal. machine guns, final configuration, bow gun replaced by one twin 20mm gun mount, two .50 cal. machine guns remain; Propulsion, four Packard ID1700 diesel engines, replaced by four Waukasha Motors Co. diesels, two shafts, two controllable pitch propellers.


Click On Image
For Full Size Image
Size Image Description Source
Persistent 23k - USS Persistent (MSO-423)
Web Site
Rick Szpyrka
Courtesy Frank Fabriziani
Persistent 83k "In the afternoon sun..." Off Long Beach, CA
Photo by George Arthur
Floyd Farrar
Persistent 100k c. early 1960s. Viewed from Dynamic (MSO 432)
Photo by George Arthur
Floyd Farrar
Persistent 68k c. 1962. Off Long Beach, CA
Photo by George Arthur
Floyd Farrar
Guadalquivir 61k Guadalquivir (M 43)
Spanish Navy Photo
Spanish Navy
Guadalquivir 55k Guadalquivir (M 43) at Rota, Spain. c. July 1976. Richard Leonhardt

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Laid down, 17 June 1954 as AM-491, by the J. L. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma, Wash; Redesignated MSO-491, 7 February 1955; Launched, 23 April 1955; Commissioned USS Persistent (MSO-491), 3 February 1956. Following Pacific coast shakedown, Persistent reported for duty to Commander, Pacific Fleet, 2 March 1956 and was designated flagship for Mine Division 91 the same day. In September 1956 she was modified for advanced sound reduction to protect against acoustic mines. In August 1957 she deployed to WestPac as part of Mine Countermeasures Group, 7th Fleet. After return to Long Beach for regular overhaul in February 1958 and completion of type training that year, she engaged in research at the Navy Acoustic Range, Puget Sound, September 1959. Later that year she measured ocean currents under assignment to Scripps institute of Oceanography. After another deployment to WestPac in 1960, she returned to California in July. After type training in 1961, she deployed to WestPac in January 1962, assisting in the training of South Vietnamese sailors from January to August. After domestic operations in 1963, she deployed annually to WestPac from 1964 to 1968. Into 1970 she remained active with the Pacific Fleet. Decommissioned, 1 July 1971; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1974 and sold to Spain under the Security Assistance Program, renamed Guadalquivir (M-43).

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Navy MSO Association Email Addresses
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Persistent (MSO-491)
102 Minesweepers (MSO) Oceangoing Minesweepers
Naval Minewarfare Association
Association of Minemen
Navy MSO Association
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Ocean Minesweeper (MSO) Photo Index

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