USS ''Density'' (AM-218) was an
''Admirable''-class minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
built for the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
She was launched 6 February 1944 by
Tampa Shipbuilding Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was one of a number of shipyards in Tampa, Florida. It operated from 1917 to after World War II, closing in 1947.
History
Origins
Originally Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, founded in 1917, the y ...
Co., Inc.,
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
; sponsored by Miss M. Farmwald; and commissioned 15 June 1944. She was reclassified MSF-218 on 7 February 1955.
The vessel was later renamed MV ''Galaxy'' and was home to the British offshore
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
station
Radio London.
World War II Pacific Ocean operations
''Density'' arrived at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California, 23 September 1944 to serve as a
training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
for the
Small Craft Training Center at
Terminal Island
Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...
, until 2 February 1945, when she sailed for
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
and
Ulithi
Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap.
Overview
Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...
.
''Density'' sortied from
Ulithi
Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap.
Overview
Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...
19 March 1945 to sweep mines preparatory to the invasion of
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
on 1 April. Patrolling off Okinawa for its capture and occupation, ''Density'' fired on the enemy in several suicide attacks. On 6 April she splashed several of the
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
force which struck the Fleet, then assisted , picking up 16 of her survivors and towing her to
Kerama Retto
The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan.
Geography
Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Vill ...
. On the 22nd she splashed an enemy attacker which cleared her bridge by only , then rescued three survivors from stricken before resuming her patrol. Five days later she recovered the body of an enemy officer from a plane she had downed and thus obtained valuable intelligence material including a secret
code book
A codebook is a type of document used for gathering and storing cryptography codes. Originally codebooks were often literally , but today codebook is a byword for the complete record of a series of codes, regardless of physical format.
Crypto ...
and photographs. While sweeping mines she sank an enemy suicide boat off
Naha
is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...
on 4 May.
''Density'' sailed from
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
4 July to join a group of minesweepers supporting the 3rd Fleet strikes against the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
homeland. From 9 August to 28 August she was in
San Pedro Bay,
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, for brief overhaul, and on 8 September put out from
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
to sweep mines in Japanese waters. She remained in the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
on occupation duty until 20 November when she sailed for the
U.S. West Coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
, arriving at San Diego, California, 19 December.
Awards
''Density'' received three battle stars for World War II service.
Post-War decommissioning
On 29 January 1946 she arrived at
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, to provide services to the
reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
at
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...
, and was placed in commission in reserve 14 May 1946. ''Density'' was decommissioned there 3 March 1947.
In February 1955 ''Density'' was sold by the U.S. Navy to be used as a Greek cargo ship and renamed MV ''Manoula''. By 1964 she was impounded in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Florida, for non-payment of harbour dues.
She was bought in September 1964 and renamed MV ''Galaxy''. She had a 50-kilowatt
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
ampliphase Ampliphase is the brand name of an amplitude modulation system achieved by summing phase modulated carriers.
This modulation and amplifier technology family was originally marketed by RCA for AM broadcast transmitters. The Ampliphase system was ...
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
installed and an approximately antenna mast erected behind the funnel (though a height of was claimed for publicity purposes). She set sail from Miami on 22 October 1964 for England via
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
. The ship arrived in the
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
on 19 November 1964.
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
's owner Ronan O'Rahilly warned Radio London that this anchorage might fall within British territorial waters. They responded by moving the ship to a position four-and-a-half miles from
Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast and (as Walton le Soken) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district in Essex, England. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Ha ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, close to Radio Caroline South's ship
MV ''Mi Amigo''. Radio London later regularly advertised this position on air as 51° 47.09" N, 01° 20.55" E.
She started broadcasting as
Radio London, an offshore commercial station, on 23 December 1964, gaining an estimated 8.8 million listeners aged over 18 in the United Kingdom by 1966. She continued to broadcast until 14 August 1967 when the
British Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
enacted
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
prohibiting British nationals from working for the station or supplying it. Radio Caroline, operating from two ships at separate locations, was the only offshore station to defy the ban.
On 19 August she sailed to
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. After Radio Caroline's ships were seized over unpaid debts the ''Galaxy'' was considered as a replacement, but was too expensive. An attempt by
Erwin Meister
Erwin Meister is a Swiss businessman who, with his partner Edwin Bollier, formed the company Mebo Telecommunications in 1969. They bought a Norwegian freighter, renamed it ''Mebo II'', and converted it into an offshore radio station.
Radio North S ...
and
Edwin Bollier
Edwin Bollier and his partner, Erwin Meister, founded Mebo Telecommunications AG in Zürich, Switzerland in 1969. The firm has traded in a variety of electronic and telecommunication equipment as well as acting as consultants in the construction ...
to buy the ship as a going concern also fell through, and they set about equipping another two ships, the later of which broadcast as
Radio North Sea International
Radio North Sea International (RNI; ; ) was a European offshore radio station run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer Edwin Bollier and his business partner, Erwin Meister.. The company, registered in Switz ...
.
The ''Galaxy'' remained in Hamburg until 1970 when she was sold for scrap. She remained in Hamburg until 1975 when she was moved to the shipyard and harbour of Howaldswerke-Deutsche Werft at
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
. In 1979 she sank and stayed on the bottom until August 1986 when a conservation lobby persuaded the authorities to raise her due to concerns about
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
. She was raised and moved to dry land where she was scrapped.
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Density (AM-218)
Admirable-class minesweepers
World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States
Ships built in Tampa, Florida
1944 ships