USS ''Limpkin'' (AMS/MSC-195) was a acquired by the United States Navy for clearing coastal minefields.

Construction

The second ship to be named ''Limpkin'' by the Navy was laid down 17 April 1953, as ''AMS-195'', by Broward Marine, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida; launched 22 May 1954; sponsored by Mrs. Edward Applegate; reclassified MSC-195 on 7 February 1955; and commissioned 10 April 1955.

East Coast operations

After reporting to Mine Division 45 at

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 ...

, 15 April 1955, the new coastal minesweeper proceeded to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, for

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, ...

. Returning to Charleston on 19 June, ''Limpkin'' trained with the

Fleet Sonar School The Fleet Sonar School was a United States Navy facility located at Naval Station Key West, Florida for the training of Service personnel in Sonar techniques and equipment, and Anti-submarine warfare. The facility opened in 1940, after personnel w ...

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, Florida, 20 July to 3 August, then returned home for operations off South Carolina and a post shake down overhaul.

Transferred to MinDiv 41

Transferred to Mine Division 41 on

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, during 1956, ''Limpkin'' worked with the Mine Evaluation Depot, Key West; spent a month undergoing refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and participated in a minesweeping exercise with the Atlantic Fleet. Shifting home port to Yorktown, Virginia, site of the Navy Mine Warfare School, in January 1957, for the next two years the ship trained Navy men in the dangers and intricacies of minesweeping operations.

Participating in NATO exercises

Changing her home port to Little Creek, Virginia, 1 January 1959, ''Limpkin'' operated with the amphibious forces of the Atlantic Fleet and tested experimental minesweeping gear in the Chesapeake Bay. The ship departed Little Creek on 29 September 1960, for the NATO exercise "Sweepclear" off Nova Scotia. Calling briefly at Boston, Massachusetts, ''Limpkin'' arrived at Halifax on 6 October, and operated with Canadian minesweepers until 19 October. Returning to Little Creek 26 October, the ship soon deployed to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, visiting Cristobal, Panama, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the three-month cruise and participating in LANTPHIBEX 1-61. For the remainder of 1961, she patrolled Chesapeake Bay, evaluating new equipment and training recruits.

Canadian operations

Following another LANTPHIBEX in the Caribbean during early 1962, ''Limpkin'' returned to Nova Scotia in October 1962, for a Joint operation "Sweepclear" with Canadian Mine Squadron 1. In 1963, plus operating in the Chesapeake Bay, the ship gained more invaluable training with the Canadians, as "Sweepclear" shifted to

Mayport, Florida Mayport is a small community located between Naval Station Mayport and the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities. The only public road to Mayport is State Road A1A, which crosses the St. Johns ...

, thus providing familiarity with the breadth and unity of American-Canadian defense for the eastern coast of North America. ''Limpkin'' continued this pattern of service, perfecting the dangerous art of mine warfare in operations along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean until late 1968.

Inactivation and use as a training ship

On 26 September 1968, she decommissioned and was placed in service as a US Naval Reserve training ship, along with , based at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She continued to give reservists first hand training into 1969.

Transfer to Indonesia and decommissioning

''Limpkin'' was transferred to Indonesia in 1971, and renamed ''Pulau Anjer'' (M-719). She was struck from the

Naval Register 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 ...

, 1 May 1976; and disposed of for scrap through the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service on 1 September 1976.

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Limpkin Bluebird-class minesweepers Ships built in Fort Lauderdale, Florida 1954 ships Cold War minesweepers of the United States Pulau Anjer Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Indonesian Navy Adjutant-class minesweepers