USS Force (AM-99)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 19 November 1941 |
| Launched: | 7 September 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 16 June 1943 |
| Battle Stars: | 3 for World War II |
| Reclassified: | PC-1603, 1 June 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 21 June 1945 |
| Struck: | Unknown |
| Fate: | Destroyed, 24 October 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class: | Adroit class minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 890 tons |
| Length: | 221 ft 3 in (67.4 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 9 in (3.3 m) |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 105 |
| Propulsion: | Two 1,440 bhp Busch-Sulzer BS 539 diesel engines (Serial No. 1147 & 1148), two shafts. |
USS Force (AM-99) was an Adroit class minesweeper: Laid down, 19 November 1941 by the Penn-Jersey Corp., Camden, New Jersey; launched, 7 September 1942; commissioned, USS Force (AM 99), 16 June 1943; reclassified a Submarine chaser PC-1603, 1 June 1944.
Armament one single 3"/50 gun mount, two 40 mm gun mounts, eight 20 mm guns, two depth charge tracks, five depth charge projectiles.
Contents |
[edit] Operation as a World War II Minesweeper
No data available.
[edit] Converted to PC-1603, Wrecked by a Kamikaze
On 26 May 1945, while anchored in Kimmu Wan, Okinawa, PC-1603 was struck by two Kawasaki "Tony" kamikaze aircraft. The first hit the bow at the water line and the second hit the bow at deck level. Three lives were lost and 15 wounded mostly from burns.
[edit] Decommissioning
On 21 June 1945 PC-1603 was decommissioned and towed to the ship grave yard at Kerama Retto. The hulk was ordered destroyed on 24 October 1945. The hull was incorporated in the building of a breakwater/dock and officially donated to the Government of the Ryukyu Islands on 10 July 1957.
PC-1603 was awarded three battle stars for the Leyte, Luzon and Okinawa landings.
[edit] References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
