USS ''Marvel'' (AM-262) was an 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 opposing ...

and in commission from 1944 to 1945. In 1945, she was transferred to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and then served in the Soviet Navy as ''T-272''. The Soviets converted her into a

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built ...

in 1948 and renamed her ''Passat''.

Construction and commissioning

''Marvel'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 4 April 1943 at Lorain,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, by the American Shipbuilding Company, launched on 31 July 1943, sponsored by Miss Naomi Gordan, and commissioned on 9 June 1944.

Service history

U.S. Navy, World War II, 1944-1945

Completing a brief shakedown at Little Creek,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, ''Marvel'' got underway on 19 August 1944 for Naval Operating Base

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. Into the mid-autumn of 1944, she operated from St. George's Bay, Bermuda, sweeping for mines and conducting

antisubmarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrols to ensure safe passage into the eastern terminus of the southern

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route. She returned to Virginia on 9 November 1944, and for the next two months conducted similar patrols in the Hampton Roads area. On 17 January 1945, ''Marvel'' weighed anchor and began a two-and-a-half month cruise to Kodiak,

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

. Steaming via

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in the Panama Canal Zone,

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, and

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, she arrived at Kodiak on 31 March 1945. On 2 April 1945 she departed for the

Shumagin Islands The Shumagin Islands (Unangan: ''Qagiiĝun''; russian: Острова Шумагина) are a group of 20 islands in the Aleutians East Borough south of the mainland of Alaska, United States, at 54°54'–55°20' North 159°15'–160°45' West. ...

, arriving at Baralof Bay on 3 April 1945. There she conducted local exercises. Selected for transfer to the Soviet Navy in

Project Hula Project Hula was a program during World War II in which the United States transferred naval vessels to the Soviet Union in anticipation of the Soviets eventually joining the war against Japan, specifically in preparation for planned Soviet inv ...

– a secret program for the transfer of U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy at

Cold Bay Cold Bay ( ale, Udaamagax,; Sugpiaq: ''Pualu'') is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 108, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 50. Cold Bay is one of the main commercial ...

, Alaska, in anticipation of the

joining the war against Japan – ''Marvel'' proceeded to Cold Bay in the spring of 1945 to begin familiarization training of her new Soviet crew.

Soviet Navy, 1945-1960

Following the completion of training for her Soviet crew, ''Marvel'' was decommissioned on 21 May 1945 at Cold Bay and transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease immediately. Also commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately, she was designated as a ' ("minesweeper") and renamed ''T-274'' in Soviet service. She soon departed Cold Bay bound for

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultu ...

in the Soviet Union, where she served in the

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. In February 1946, the United States began negotiations for the return of ships loaned to the Soviet Union for use during World War II, and on 8 May 1947,

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James V. Forrestal informed the

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that the

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wanted 480 of the 585 combatant ships it had transferred to the Soviet Union for World War II use returned. Deteriorating relations between the two countries as the Cold War broke out led to protracted negotiations over the ships, and by the mid-1950s the U.S. Navy found it too expensive to bring home ships that had become worthless to it anyway. Many ex-American ships were merely administratively "returned" to the United States and instead sold for scrap in the Soviet Union, while the U.S. Navy did not seriously pursue the return of others because it viewed them as no longer worth the cost of recovery.Russell, Richard A., ''Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan'', Washington, D.C.:

Naval Historical Center The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

, 1997, , pp. 37-38, 39. The Soviets converted ''T-272'' into a

in 1948 and renamed her ''Passat'', and never returned 'her to the United States, although the U.S. Navy reclassified her as a "fleet minesweeper" (MSF) and redesignated her MSF-262 on 7 February 1955.

Disposal

''T-274'' was scrapped in 1960. Unaware of her fate, the U.S. Navy kept ''Marvel'' on its

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

until finally striking her on 1 January 1983.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - ''Marvel'' (MSF 262) - ex-AM-262
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marvel (AM-262) Admirable-class minesweepers Ships built in Lorain, Ohio 1943 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Admirable-class minesweepers of the Soviet Navy World War II minesweepers of the Soviet Union Cold War minesweepers of the Soviet Union Trawlers of the Soviet Navy Cold War patrol vessels of the Soviet Union Ships transferred under Project Hula