USS Constant, (AM-427/MSO-427) was an
Agile class minesweeper
The ''Agile''-class minesweepers are a class of US-built ocean-going Minesweeper (ship), minesweepers. 58 ships were built for the United States Navy, 35 ships were built for the allied North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO navies of Belgian ...
vessel in the
United States Navy.
''Constant'' was laid down on 16 August 1951 at
Fulton Shipyard,
Antioch, California and launched on 14 February 1953. She was commissioned as ''Constant'', AM-427) on 8 September 1954 and later reclassified as an Ocean
Minesweeper MSO-427 on 7 February 1955.
Pacific Ocean operations
''Constant'' operated on the
west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
until she cleared
Long Beach, California, 4 January 1956 for
Pearl Harbor and
Yokosuka, Japan, arriving 4 February. She joined in amphibious exercises at
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high.
...
, made repairs to cables and conducted
minesweeping and local operations from her base at
Sasebo until 28 March. Between 2 April and 19 May, she sailed in training exercises with naval forces of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
based on
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
,
Taiwan. She returned to
Sasebo 20 April to resume operations in Japanese waters until 19 May, when she cleared
Yokosuka, Japan, for
Long Beach, California, arriving 15 June.
Stateside Overhaul
After overhaul and west coast operations, ''Constant'' sailed from
Long Beach, California, 2 June 1958, for
Sasebo and duty in
minesweeping off
Okinawa, as well as other local operations from 3 July to 30 August. She stood by at
Taiwan from 2 September until 27 October during the
Quemoy Crisis, then called at
Hong Kong, before returning to Japan. She cleared
Yokosuka, Japan, 12 December for
Long Beach, California, arriving 6 January 1959. Through the remainder of 1959, and the first half of 1960, she operated locally from Long Beach. On 31 August ''Constant'' sailed for duty in the Far East, where she remained into 1961.
In the mid-1980s, she participated in one or more extended endurance Naval Reserve summer training cruises (with reservists embarked) from her homeport in San Diego to as far away as the Naval Air Station in Adak, AK. In June, 1985, USS Constant called at the following ports: U.S. Coast Guard Station Juneau, AK, and at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak Island, AK.
Decommissioning
''Constant'' was decommissioned, 30 September 1992; struck from the
Naval Register, 9 March 1994; sold for scrapping to Crowley Marine, removal date 29 September 1999; scrapped, 1 April 2001.
References
External links
NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - AM / MSO-427 Constant*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constant
Agile-class minesweepers
1953 ships
Ships built in Antioch, California