USS ''Success'' (AM-310) 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 ...

. She was awarded four

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for service in the Pacific during World War II. She was decommissioned in July 1946 and placed in reserve. While she remained in reserve, ''Success'' was reclassified as MSF-310 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In October 1962, she was sold to the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

and renamed ARM ''DM-08''. Although she is reported out of service, her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.

U.S. Navy career

''Success'' was laid down on 18 February 1944 by

Associated Shipbuilders Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was a major shipbuilding and construction company, located in Seattle, Washington, on the southwestern corner of Harbor Island, Seattle, Harbor Island, an artificial island in Elliott Bay. The Bridge and Dr ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

; launched on 11 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. J. L. McLean; and commissioned on 18 October 1944. ''Success'' completed fitting out at Seattle, Washington, and sailed for

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, on 8 November where she held her shakedown cruise in the harbor of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. On 11 December, the minesweeper got underway for

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 state ...

and arrived at

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 R ...

on 19 December 1944. She sortied with Task Group (TG) 51, LST Flotilla One, in the screen of Tractor Group Able for

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

on 22 January 1945. The group remained there from 3 to 5 February and then steamed to the Mariana Islands where final staging was begun for the invasion of Iwo Jima. ''Success'' was detached from the screen to join Mine Division (MinDiv) 36 which sailed for Iwo Jima on the 13th. The division arrived off the island three days before the assault was to begin and started sweeping mines. ''Success'' operated as a minesweeper and performed

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 there from 16 to 25 February when she departed for Saipan. She sailed from there on 7 March and arrived at Ulithi the next day. MinDiv 36, and ''Success'' stood out of Ulithi on 19 March, for the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

. On the 25th, they began sweeping mines in the Kerama Retto area in preparation for the U.S. Army landings there the next day. ''Success'' then began clearing the Okinawa area for the impending assault upon that Japanese stronghold. After the landings there on 1 April, the minesweeper also performed antiaircraft and antisubmarine patrols. Five days later, the Japanese launched their heaviest attack by kamikaze, suicide planes against American ships at Okinawa. was crashed by a suicide plane and ''Success'' picked up 78 survivors. On 15 April, she splashed a "Tony" during an air raid. The ship and her division departed the operating area on 5 May for Ulithi and arrived on the 9th. The minesweeper was assigned to the screen of a resupply convoy bound for Okinawa which arrived there on 27 May. ''Success'' patrolled off Okinawa until 12 June. From the 13th to the 20th, she swept mines in the East China Sea. After a brief logistics period at Kerama Retto, she swept mines between Taiwan, Formosa and the coast of China from 4 to 15 July. From the 22nd to the 30th, she again swept the East China Sea. On 13 August, she and departed Okinawa to sweep an area near Kyūshū, from the 14th to the 24th before returning to port. She sailed on 30 August for the southwest coast of Korea and swept mines there until 7 September. Two days later she was assigned to the U.S. 5th Fleet and swept the approaches to Sasebo, Nagasaki, Sasebo, Japan, which became her base of operations. She cleared mines around the islands there, and then swept known minefields from Kyūshū to Korea until early December. ''Success'' returned to Sasebo on 5 December and waited for further orders. She was notified that she would return to the United States, via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor. The sweeper sailed on 10 December 1945 and arrived at San Diego, California, on 12 January 1946. She was routed from there to the U.S. East Coast, East Coast and arrived at Galveston, Texas, on 3 February for pre-inactivation availability. ''Success'' moved to Orange, Texas, where she was decommissioned on 9 July 1946. ''Success'' received four

s for World War II. While she remained in reserve, ''Success''s designation was changed to MSF-310 on 7 February 1955. ''Success'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1962 and sold to Mexico in 1963.

Mexican Navy career

The former ''Success'' was acquired by the

in 1963 and renamed ARM ''DM-08''. Although she is reported out of service, her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.

Notes

References

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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Success (MSF-310) - ex-AM-310
{{DEFAULTSORT:Success (AM-310) Admirable-class minesweepers Ships built in Seattle 1944 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Admirable-class minesweepers of the Mexican Navy