USS Gladiator (AM-319) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy from the Royal British Navy. She was purchased and commissioned as the USS Gladiator on 25 February 1944. USS Gladiator took part in WWII from 1 May 1994 until 15 December 1945, initially taking part in escort and patrol operations, making four round-trip escort voyages from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands, until called into combat 19 March 1945 at Okinawa. From 24 March 1945, USS Gladiator began minesweeping operations in the vicinity of Okinawa, during which she shot down three enemy combatant planes, suffering one death and five casualties. After departing Okinawa, USS Gladiator conducted minesweeping operations in the South China Sea before returning to the States on 15 December 1945 where she was decommissioned on 4 October 1946. She was recommissioned for use in the Korean war from 29 February 1953 until 19 March 1953, sweeping mines in Wonsan, Inchon, and Hungnam, Korea. USS Gladiator returned to the US on 10 April 1953, staying on the West Coast until her decommissioning on 15 March 1955 at Long Beach, California, where she stayed in storage until her sale to the Mexican Navy in 1973.