The Admirable class was one of the largest and most successful classes of
minesweepers ordered by the
United States Navy during World War II. Typically, minesweepers detected and removed
naval mines before the rest of the fleet arrived, thereby ensuring safe passage for the larger ships. They were also charged with
anti-submarine warfare (ASW) duties with rear-mounted
depth charge racks and a forward-firing
Hedgehog antisubmarine
mortar. Their job was essential to the safety and success of U.S. naval operations during World War II and the
Korean War. These minesweepers were also employed as
patrol vessel and
convoy escorts.
The
PCE-842-class of patrol craft escorts was based on the Admirable-class design.[1]
Service in other Navies
As a part of
Project Hula – a secret 1945 program that transferred 149 U.S. Navy ships to the
Soviet Navy at
Cold Bay, Territory of Alaska, in anticipation of the
Soviet Union joining the
war against Japan – the U.S. Navy transferred 24 Admirable-class minesweepers to the Soviet Navy between May and August 1945. At least some of them saw action in the
Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in
Northeast Asia in August 1945. The Soviet Union never returned them to the United States.[2]
^Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. p. 151.
ISBN0-85177-146-7.
^Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.:
Naval Historical Center, 1997,
ISBN0-945274-35-1, pp. 12, 35, 37–38, 39.
^individual ship navsource.org pages. Two 1,710shp engines is assumed to be incorrectly summed