View source for Admirable-class minesweeper

{{Short description|Class of United States Navy minesweeper ships}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2013}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Admirable-136.jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=USS ''Admirable'' underway, ca. 1944.
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=
|Builders=(8 companies in 8 states)
|Operators=*World War II
*{{Navy|United States}}
*{{Navy|Soviet Union}}
*Post-War
*{{Navy|Taiwan}}
*{{Navy|Dominican Republic}}
*{{Navy|South Korea}}
*{{Navy|Mexico}}
*{{Navy|Myanmar}}
*{{Navy|Philippines}}
*{{Navy|South Vietnam}}
*{{Navy|United States}}
*{{Navy|Soviet Union}}
*{{flagicon|Taiwan}} [[Chinese Maritime Customs Service]]
|Class before={{sclass|Hawk|minesweeper|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Agile|minesweeper|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=
|In commission range=
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=147
|Total ships completed=123
|Total ships cancelled=24
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=1
}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Minesweeper]]
|Ship displacement=625 tons
|Ship length={{Convert|184|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{Convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft={{Convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=2 × 855shp diesel engines, single reduction gear, 2 shafts
|Ship speed={{Convert|15|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=104 officers and men
|Ship armament=*1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun]]
*4 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60]]
*6 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]
*1 × [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] anti-submarine mortar
*4 × [[Depth charge]] projectors
*2 × Depth charge racks
*2 × [[Naval mine#Mine sweeping|minesweeping]] [[Paravane (weapon)|paravanes]]
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Admirable'' class''' was one of the largest and most successful classes of [[minesweeper]]s ordered by the [[United States Navy]] during World War II.  Typically, minesweepers detected and removed [[naval mine]]s before the rest of the fleet arrived, thereby ensuring safe passage for the larger ships. They were also charged with [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW) duties with rear-mounted [[depth charge]] racks and a forward-firing [[hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] antisubmarine [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]].  Their job was essential to the safety and success of U.S. naval operations during World War II and the [[Korean War]]. These minesweepers were also employed as [[patrol vessel]] and [[convoy]] escorts. The only remaining ship of this class is located at Freedom Park, Omaha, NE.

The {{sclass|PCE-842|patrol craft|0}} of patrol craft escorts was based on the ''Admirable''-class design.<ref name="conways22">{{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Chesneau|first2=Roger|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|year=1980|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-146-7|page=151}}</ref>

==Service in other Navies==

As a part of [[Project Hula]] – a secret 1945 program that transferred 149 U.S. Navy ships to the [[Soviet Navy]] at [[Cold Bay, Alaska|Cold Bay, Territory of Alaska]], in anticipation of the [[Soviet Union]] joining the [[Pacific War|war against Japan]] – the U.S. Navy transferred 24 ''Admirable''-class minesweepers to the Soviet Navy between May and August 1945. At least some of them saw action in the [[Soviet–Japanese War (1945)|Soviet offensive]] against Japanese forces in [[Northeast Asia]] in August 1945. The Soviet Union never returned them to the United States.<ref name="Russell p. 39">Russell, Richard A., ''Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan'', Washington, D.C.: [[Naval Historical Center]], 1997, {{ISBN|0-945274-35-1}}, pp. 12, 35, 37–38, 39.</ref>

After World War II, the United States transferred ''Admirable''-class minesweepers to the [[Republic of China Navy]], the Republic of China{{'}}s [[Chinese Maritime Customs Service]], the [[Republic of Korea Navy]], the [[Republic of Vietnam Navy]], and the [[Dominican Navy|Dominican]], [[Mexican Navy|Mexican]], [[Myanmar Navy|Myanmar]], and [[Philippine Navy|Philippine]] navies.

{{USS|Hazard|AM-240|6}} survives as a [[museum ship]] on dry land in [[Omaha, Nebraska]]. {{USS|Inaugural|AM-242|6}} was a museum ship on the [[Mississippi River]] in [[St. Louis]], until she sank during the [[Great Flood of 1993]].
{{USS|Scuffle|AM-298|6}} was scuttled off the coast of [[Cozumel]], Mexico in 1999. It is now a popular site for [[scuba diving]].

[[File:Popov on minesweeper.jpg|300px|thumb|none|[[Soviet Navy]] [[Rear Admiral]] [[Boris Dmitrievich Popov]], commander of the 5th Independent Brigade of Soviet Navy Ships at [[Cold Bay, Alaska|Cold Bay, Territory of Alaska]], speaks aboard an unidentified ''Admirable''-class [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] at Cold Bay on 21 or 22 May 1945 during the ceremony transferring the ship from the [[United States Navy]] to the Soviet Navy in the secret [[Project Hula]] training-and-transfer program.]]

==Production==

* [[Tampa Shipbuilding Company]], [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], FL (24)
** {{USS|Admirable|AM-136|3}} ... {{USS|Bombard|AM-151|3}}
** {{USS|Crag|AM-214|3}} ... {{USS|Diploma|AM-221|3}}
* [[Willamette Iron and Steel Works]], [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], OR (23)
** {{USS|Bond|Am-152|3}} ... {{USS|Counsel|AM-165|3}}
** {{USS|Creddock|AM-356|3}}, {{USS|Dipper|AM-357|3}}, {{USS|Drake|AM-359|3}}
** {{USS|Dunlin|AM-361|3}} ... {{USS|Harrier|AM-366|3}}
* [[Savannah Machine & Foundry]], GA (9)
** {{USS|Implicit|AM-246|3}} ... {{USS|Invade|AM-254|3}}
* [[Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company]], [[Puget Sound]], WA (13)
** {{USS|Garland|AM-238|3}} ... {{USS|Inaugural|AM-242|3}}
** {{USS|Salute|AM-294|3}} ... {{USS|Shelter|AM-301|3}}
* [[Gulf Shipbuilding|Gulf Shipbuilding Madisonville]], LA (16)
** {{USS|Notable|AM-267|3}} ... {{USS|Rampart|AM-282|3}}
* [[General Engineering & Dry Dock Company]], [[Alameda, California|Alameda]], CA (7)
** {{USS|Ransom|AM-283|3}} ... {{USS|Report|AM-289|3}}
* [[Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company|Associated Shipbuilders]], [[Puget Sound]], WA (14)
** {{USS|Signet|AM-302|3}} ... {{USS|Superior|AM-311|3}}
** {{USS|Execute|AM-232|3}} ... {{USS|Fixity|AM-235|3}}
* [[American Ship Building Company]], [[Lorain, Ohio|Lorain]], OH (17)
** {{USS|Jubilant|AM-255|3}} ... {{USS|Nimble|AM-266|3}}
** {{USS|Disdain|AM-222|3}} ... {{USS|Embattle|AM-226|3}}

==Engines==

* Two 855shp [[American Locomotive Company|ALCO]] [[ALCO 539T|539]] diesel engines, [[Farrel Corporation|Farrel-Birmingham]] single reduction gear, two shafts. (30)
** AM-136 ... AM-165
* Two 855shp [[Cooper Bessemer]] GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts (84)
** AM-214 ... AM-226, AM-232 ... AM-235, AM-240 ... AM-242
** AM-246 ... AM-291, AM-294 ... AM-311
* Two 855shp [[Busch-Sulzer]] 539 diesel engines, Farrel Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts (9)
** AM-356, AM-357, AM-359, AM-361 ... AM-366
* ref:<ref>individual ship navsource.org pages. Two 1,710shp engines is assumed to be incorrectly summed</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Admirable-class minesweepers|List of ''Admirable''-class minesweepers]]
*{{sclass|Auk|minesweeper|1}}

==References==
* http://shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/minesweepers1.htm
* http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/willamette.htm
* http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/tasco.htm
* http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/savannah.htm
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Admirable-class minesweepers}}
{{Project Hula ships}}
{{WWII US ships}}
{{WWII Soviet ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Admirable Class Minesweeper}}
[[Category:Mine warfare vessel classes]]
[[Category:Admirable-class minesweepers| ]]
[[Category:Ships transferred under Project Hula| Admirable]]