USS Pinnacle (MSO-462)
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USS ''Pinnacle'' (AM-462/MSO-462) was an 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. ''Pinnacle'' was laid down 24 August 1953 as AM-462 by Higgins Industries Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana and launched 3 January 1955. She was redesignated as an Ocean Minesweeper, MSO-462, 7 February 1955 and commissioned on 21 October 1955.


North Atlantic operations

''Pinnacle'' was assigned to
MinDiv MinDiv was a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "Minesweeper Division." The Commander of a minesweeper division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINDIV (followed by a number), such as COMMINDIV EIGHT. References See ...
84 and completed
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in Chesapeake Bay and post shakedown overhaul 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 ...
, and in June 1956 began preparations for her first deployment to the Mediterranean. Sailing east on 4 September, she visited the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, took part in NATO maneuvers in the North Sea then operated with the
U.S. 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
in the Mediterranean from 20 October to 21 January 1957. On 6 February she returned to Charleston, South Carolina, then, through September, furnished services for the
Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...
. Overhaul and local operations followed and in May, 1958, ''Pinnacle'' again sailed for the Mediterranean.


Middle East Crisis operations

As tension in the Middle East rose to a new height, ''Pinnacle'' steamed directly to the eastern Mediterranean and for most of that deployment cruised off the Levantine states. Between 1 August and 2 October she spent six weeks off Beirut as the 6th Fleet answered Lebanese President Camille Chamoun's request for aid. En route home a series of engineering casualties resulted in the loss of the use of her main engines. Taken in tow by , she arrived 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 ...
, 3 November.


Stateside Overhaul

Overhaul, local operations and
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 ...
amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
exercises took up 1959 and in January 1960, ''Pinnacle'' deployed to the Mediterranean for another tour with the
U.S. 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
. Returning in June, she resumed a series of local operations Mine Warfare school ship duties and
amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
exercise in the Caribbean. In late January 1962 she steamed to
Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...
, Florida, to act as a back-up ship during the Mercury 6 space shot. In April she reported for duty with the Mine Defense Laboratory, Panama City, Florida, and after upkeep at the end of the summer sailed north to participate in joint U.S.-Canada exercises in the North Atlantic Ocean.


Continued U.S. 6th Fleet operations

In May 1963, ''Pinnacle'' again deployed to the Mediterranean and into 1970 regularly rotated between duty with the 6th Fleet, local operations and training exercises off the
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, and extended deployment with
amphibious forces Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
in the Caribbean. ''Pinnacle'' participated in the recovery effort of the
Palomares Incident The 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, also called the Palomares incident, occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling at over the Med ...
in early 1966. ''Pinnacle'' was the first ship to locate the missing hydrogen bomb after making sonar contact.Melson, June 1967, p.31


Deactivation

''Pinnacle'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1977; sold for scrapping on 1 May 1978 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to C. B. Herter of Hopewell, Virginia, for $26,491.


Notes


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinnacle Aggressive-class minesweepers Ships built in New Orleans 1955 ships