Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Ship Photo Archive

Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

Defender (MCM-2)

Call sign:
November - Papa - Bravo - Alpha

Avenger Class Mine Countermeasures Ship: Laid down, 1 December 1983 at Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wisc.; Launched, 4 April 1987; Commissioned 30 September 1989.

Specifications: Displacement 1,253 t.(lt) , 1,367 t(fl); Length 224'; Beam 39'; Draft 15'; Speed 13.5k; Complement; 7 officers, 75 enlisted, Armament two M2HB .50 cal. machine guns, two M60 7.62mm machine guns, two Mk19 grenade launchers; Propulsion four Waukasha Motors Co. diesel engines, two controllable reversible pitch propellers, two rudders, two electric light load propulsion motors; Auxiliary Systems, three Waukesha ship service diesel generator sets, one solar gas turbine generator, one omnithruster bow thruster system; Electronic systems; one AN/SSN-2 Precise Integrated Navigation System (PINS), one AN/SQQ-32 Mine Hunting Sonar, one AN/SPS-55 Surface Radar. one AN/WSN-2 Gyro Compass; Mine Countermeasure Equipment Suite, one AN/SLQ-48 (V) Mine Neutralization System, one AN/SQL-37 (V) 3 Magnetic/Acoustic Influence Minesweeping Gear, Oropesa type 0 size 1 Mechanical Sweep Equipment, MDG 1701 Marconi Magnetometer Degaussing System.

Size	Image Description	Source
98k	-	-
79k	6 June 2000 Chicago, IL Defender is moored to historic Navy Pier in downtown Chicago with the city's famous skyline in the background. The nation's tallest building, the 1,450-foot Sears Tower, is the black building with the white spires. Defender, a mine counter-measures ship, is visiting "the Windy City" as part of the Navy's Great Lakes Cruise 2000. The Navy sponsors the annual cruise to raise awareness of the Navy for the people of the Great Lakes Region and to promote recruiting. Defense Visual Information Center photo 000606-N-8321M-005 by Lt. Scott McIlnay.	Bill Gonyo
165k	12 June 2004 The Ingleside, Texas-based mine warfare ship Defender arrives in Pearl Harbor following her deployment in support of operations and exercises in the Pacific Ocean. The bow of Missouri (BB 63) can be seen off her port quarter. Defense Visual Information Center photo 040612-N-3019M-001 by Journalist Seaman Ryan C. McGinley.	Bill Gonyo
178k	7 July 2004 Pearl Harbor, HI during RIMPAC 04	Jack Treutle
137k	c. 2005 Avenger (MCM 1) and Defender at hurricane mooring.	HMC(SW) Charles T. Canterbury, IDC MHC Crew Gallant USS Shrike (MHC 62)

There is no DANFS history available for Defender (MCM-2)

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Official Navy Web Site for USS Defender (MCM-2)
Naval Minewarfare Association
Association of Minemen

Back To The Main Photo Index

Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index

Back To The Mine Countermeasures Ship (MCM) Photo Index

Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster