USS ''PCS-1465'' was a built for the

United States 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 ...

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 ...

. Late in the war she was renamed and reclassified ''Minah'' (AMc-204), and in the 1950s reclassified first as AMCU-14 and later as MHC-14. Named for the

myna The myna (; also spelled mynah) is a bird of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to southern Asia, especially India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Several species have been introduced to areas like ...

under a variant spelling, she was the only U.S. Navy ship of that name.

History

''PCS‑1465'' was laid down 17 June 1943 by Astoria Marine Construction Co. of

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

; launched 27 December 1943; commissioned 15 February 1944. Assigned to commander western sea frontier, PCS‑1465 patrolled and trained off the west coast until late in December 1944. Sailing to Pearl Harbor she underwent conversion to an underwater location vessel and consequently 10 January 1945 was armed and redesignated Minah (AMc‑204). Assigned to commander western sea frontier, ''PCS 1465'' patrolled and trained off 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 late in December 1944. Sailing to

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 ...

she underwent conversion to an underwater location vessel and consequently 10 January 1945 was armed and redesignated ''Minah'' (AMc 204). Following an appropriate training period she departed on 7 July in company with other coastal minesweepers for

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 ...

. While steaming beyond

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

on the last leg of her voyage hostilities ceased. Peace focused attention on the need to clear harbor areas for the restoration of commerce and in Japan to gain access for the occupation forces. Operating until 8 September around the

area, ''Minah'' then sailed to Japan and assisted in clearing mines from

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

Harbor. Later steaming into

Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, Korea, on 5 October, she supervised Japanese minesweeping operations. While on this duty AMc-204 rescued the crew of a Japanese

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

which struck a mine and sank and also employed her divers in checking previously sunken ships. Additional underwater location assignments were performed at

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...

Harbor before departing Korean waters on 15 January 1946. En route to the United States ''Minah'' sailed via

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...

where from 8 to 25 March she helped prepare the area for the atomic testing of

Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity in July 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the ...

. Arriving

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, 15 May she was soon assigned to the Commander Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, and transferred her base of operations to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, by 21 July. Demobilization policies curtailed the ship’s movements until April 1947 when she undertook a series of BuShips projects in the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and Yorktown areas. The following 4 years were spent assisting the Naval Mine Countermeasure Station at

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

. Redesignated AMCU-14 on 7 March 1952 ''Minah'' proceeded to

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

in April, one of 31 minesweepers to be converted. Local operations out of

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, and

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, preceded a final redesignation of MHC-14 on 7 February 1955. She engaged in projects of the Operational Development Force and saw service within the

6th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

before she decommissioned in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, September 1959. Briefly berthed with

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, her name was stricken from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 1 November 1959. She was sold to William J. Kleb and removed from Naval custody on 8 September 1960.

Awards and honors

USS ''Minah'' (AMc-204) received one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her World War II service.

References

External links

*
Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - AMc-204 USS Minah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minah (AMc-204) PCS-1376-class minesweepers Ships built in Astoria, Oregon 1943 ships World War II patrol vessels of the United States World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States Harkness-class minehunters Cold War minehunters of the United States