USS ''Ruff'' (AMc-59) was a

coastal minesweeper Coastal minesweeper is a term used by the United States Navy to indicate a minesweeper intended for coastal use as opposed to participating in fleet operations at sea. Because of its small size—usually less than 100 feet in length—and construct ...

acquired by 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 of ...

for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. The first ship to be named ''Ruff'' by the Navy, ''AMc-59'', originally named ''Speaker'', was laid down in 1940 by Martinolich Shipbuilding Co.,

San Diego, California 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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

; acquired by the Navy 31 December 1940; named ''Ruff'' and designated ''AMc-59'' on 5 March 1941; launched 24 April 1941; sponsored by Miss Martha Jane Shown; and placed in service 31 October 1941.

World War II service

Assigned the

14th 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 ...

, ''Ruff'' was escorted 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 ...

where she arrived 11 March 1942 for duty. A

equipped with acoustical, magnetic and "O" type gear, she operated in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

throughout the war. From January 1943 through September, she was stationed at the section base at Bishops' Point,

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. She remained with the Hawaiian local defense forces through September 1945. ''Ruff'' was placed out of service at San Diego 23 January 1946, was struck 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 ...

7 February 1946, and released to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

for disposal 29 August 1947.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Ruff (AMc 59)
* http://www.shadetreephysics.com/ships/ruff.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruff (AMc-59) Ships built in San Diego 1941 ships Minesweepers of the United States Navy World War II minesweepers of the United States