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Mine Countermeasures Ships (MCM) Info Page

Description

Ships designed to clear mines from vital waterways.

Background

In the early 1980s, the U.S. Navy began development of a new mine countermeasures (MCM) force, which included two new classes of ships and minesweeping helicopters. The vital importance of a state-of-the-art mine countermeasures force was strongly underscored in the Persian Gulf during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, and in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991 when the Avenger (MCM 1) and Guardian (MCM 5) ships conducted MCM operations. To learn more about mine warfare visit the Commander Mine Warfare Command web site.

Avenger class ships are designed as mine sweepers/hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. The last three MCM ships were purchased in 1990, bringing the total to 14 fully deployable, oceangoing Avenger class ships.

These ships use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control. They are also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships are of fiberglass sheathed, wooden hull construction. They are the first large mine countermeasures ships built in the United States in nearly 27 years.

Point Of Contact:
Office of Corporate Communication
Naval Sea Systems Command (SEA 00D)
Washington, D.C. 20376

 

Characteristics

 

Builder: Peterson Shipbuilders, Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; Marinette Marine, Marinette, WI.

 

Date Deployed: Sept. 12, 1987 (USS Avenger)

 

Propulsion: 4 × Waukesha Motors Co. diesels (first two ships) or four Isotta Fraschini diesels (600 horsepower each), two shafts with controllable pitch propellers

 

Length: 224 feet (68.28 meters)

 

Hull: Wood covered by glass reinforced plastic

 

Beam: 39 feet (11.89 meters)

 

Displacement: 1,312 tons (1,333.06 metric tons) full load

 

Draft: 13 feet

 

Speed: 14 knots (16.1 mph, 25.76 kmph)

 

Crew: 8 officers, 76 enlisted

 

Armament: Mine neutralization system. Two .50 caliber machine guns, two M60.7 62 mm machine guns, two MK19 grenade launchers

 

Precise Integrated Navigation System (PINS): one AN/SQQ-32 Mine Hunting Sonar, one AN/SPS-55 Surface Radar. one AN/WSN-2 Gyro Compass

 

Mine Countermeasure Equipment Suite: one AN/SLQ-48 (V) Mine Neutralization System, one AN/SQL-37 (V) 3 Magnetic/Acoustic Influence Minesweeping Gear, Oropesa type 0 size 1 Mechanical Sweep Equipment, MDG 1701 Marconi Magnetometer Degaussing System

 

Auxiliary Systems: three Isotta Fraschini ship service diesel generator sets, one solar gas turbine generator, one omnithruster bow thruster system

 



MCMs: Mine Countermeasure Ships

 
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