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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Ship Photo Archive

Right patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Champion (MCM 4)

Call sign:
November - Oscar - Kilo - Bravo

Avenger Class Mine Countermeasures Ship: Laid down 28 June 1984 at Marinette Marine Corp, Marinette, Wisc.; Launched 15 April 1989; Commissioned 8 February 1991; Active Naval Reserve, Mine Countermeasures Squadron Two, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Homeport, Mine Warfare Center, Ingleside, TX.

Specifications: Displacement 1,253 t.(lt) , 1,367 t(fl); Length 224'; Beam 39'; Draft 15'; Speed 13.5k; Complement; seven officers, 75 enlisted, Armament, two M2HB .50 cal. machine guns, two M60 7.62 mm machine guns, two Mk19 Grenade Launchers; Propulsion four Isotta Fraschini diesel engines (600 BHP each), two controllable 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
66k	-	-
82k	13 March 1999 Champion, Devastator (MCM 6) and Avenger (MCM 1) in line for refueling. U.S. Navy photo 990313-N-7949J-0101	-
437k	27 April 1999 Champion and Avenger (MCM 1) at Toulon, France Photo by Guy Schaeffer	Paolo Marsan
223k	27 April 1999 Champion outboard of Avenger (MCM 1) at Toulon, France Photo by Guy Schaeffer	Paolo Marsan
128k	22 July 2002 Sailors aboard the mine countermeasures ship Champion lower the AN/SLQ-48 Mine Neutralization Vehicle into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The remotely operated vehicle uses sonar and video cameras to find and identify underwater objects. If the operators find a mine, the vehicle can place small explosive charges near the mine to neutralize it. Champion is participating in Gulf of Mexico Exercise 02-2 near Corpus Christi, Tex. During the exercise, Champion was tasked with searching for and clearing exercise "mines" from critical waterways in the area. U.S. Navy photo 020722-N-5745B-002 by Lieutenant Marc Boyd.	Bill Gonyo

There is no DANFS history available for Champion (MCM-4)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Official Navy Web Site for USS Champion (MCM-4)
Naval Minewarfare Association
Association of Minemen

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