USS ''Pivot'' (AM-463/MSO-463) was an
''Aggressive''-class minesweeper acquired by the
U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
The second ship to be named ''Pivot'' by the Navy, ''AM–463'' was laid down 31 March 1952 by
Wilmington Boat Works
Wilmington Boat Works, Inc. or WILBO was a shipbuilding company in Wilmington, California. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Victory Shipbuilding built: Tugboats, crash rescue boats and sub chasers. Wilmington Boat Works opened in 1920 ...
,
Wilmington, California; launched 9 January 1954; sponsored by Mrs. Minor C. Heinl; and commissioned 12 July 1954.
West Coast operations
Following
shakedown
Shakedown may refer to:
* Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation
* Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational
* Extortion, ...
in the
Long Beach-
San Diego area, ''Pivot'' became
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of
Mine Division 93 at its establishment 6 December. On 8 January 1955, she participated in
Operation Rainbow to begin her career in the
U.S. Pacific Fleet and the following month was redesignated ''MSO–463''.
WestPac deployments
She operated along the
U.S. West Coast until departing
Long Beach, California, 2 June 1958 for the
Far East for service with the
U.S. 7th Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
. During this deployment she attempted to assist aground at
Naruto Kaikyo, Japan; but ran aground herself during the daring operation in dangerous waters. ''Pivot'' managed to break free but ''Prestige'' was lost.
Awarded the Battle Efficiency “E”
Returning to Long Beach 7 January 1959, the non-magnetic ocean minesweeper resumed operations along the
U.S. West Coast establishing a pattern of alternating service off the Pacific seaboard with WestPac deployments in 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966 and 1968. During the 1962 deployment, she received the Battle Efficiency “E”.
Supporting Market Time operations
Her last three deployments took ''Pivot'' to
Viet Nam for
“Market Time” operations, inspecting
junks
A junk (Chinese: 船, ''chuán'') is a type of Chinese sailing ship with fully battened sails. There are two types of junk in China: northern junk, which developed from Chinese river boats, and southern junk, which developed from Austronesian ...
and other craft to stem the flow of Communist war material from the north into
South Viet Nam. Her light draft, and her crew's high standard of
seamanship suited the minesweeper ideally for this important service in support of freedom.
Pivot's last WESTPAC deployment, during which she served in Operation Market Time, first at the mouth of the Mekong River and then along the DMZ, was from February to September, 1970.
Pivot was decommissioned on 1 July 1971. Stricken from the Navy list 1 August 1974. She was sold to Spain effective the same day. Pivot was named Guadamedina (M42) in the Spanish Navy.
Decommissioning
''Pivot'' was decommissioned on 1 July 1971. Stricken from the
Navy list 1 August 1974 she was sold to Spain effective the same day. ''Pivot'' was named ''Guadamedina'' (M42) in the
Spanish Navy.
References
External links
USS Pivot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pivot (MSO-463)
Aggressive-class minesweepers
Ships built in Los Angeles
1954 ships
Cold War minesweepers of the United States
Vietnam War minesweepers of the United States
Aggressive-class minesweepers of the Spanish Navy
Minesweepers of Spain