The following is just a little info on this fine ship:
Dash Class Minesweeper: Laid down, 2 July 1951 by the Astoria Marine
Construction Co., Astoria, Oregon; Launched, 20 September 1952;
Commissioned USS Dash (AM-428), 14 August 1953; Reclassified as an
Ocean Minesweeper, MSO-428, 7 February 1955; Decommissioned, 2 October
1982; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown); Sold for
scrapping, 26 January 1984 to Wayne Hobbs, Huntington, CA for $22,229.
Specifications: Displacement 775 t; Length 172'; Beam 35'; Draft 12';
Speed 14 kts; Complement 8 Officers, 70 Enlisted; Armament, as built,
one single 40mm gun mount, two .50 cal machine guns, final
configuration, bow gun replaced by one twin 20mm gun mount, two .50
controllable pitch propellers.
These new minesweepers were smaller and built primarily of wood , with
bronze and stainless (non-magnetic) steel fittings to minimize their
magnetic signature. All of the 1950 era MSOs had UQS-1 mine-locating
sonar, later updated with SQQ-14 sonar. MSOs were capable of sweeping
for moored, bottom contact, magnetic and acoustic mines.
COMMANDING OFFICERS
LCDR R.Giamotti 1953-1954
LCDR D.M.Johnston 1954-1955
LT B.W.Webb 1955-1957
LCDR L.G.Justman 1957-1959
LCDR F.W.Ulbricht 1960-1962
LCDR L.Ashman 1962-1963
LT P.P.Connolly 1963-1965
LT L.Ames 1965-1967
LT W.R.Clements 1967-1968
CDR G.W.Gibson 1968-1968 (33 Days)
LCDR D.H.Whittle 1968-1970
LCDR H.A.Goldsberry 1970-1972
LT E.L.Gibson 1972-1973
LT J.B.Lienhard 1973-1974
LT L.W.Hewett 1974-1978
LCDR W.A.Coleman 1978-1980
LCDR W.M.Wasowski 1980
The second Dash (AM-428) was launched 20 September 1952 by Astoria
Marine Construction Co., Astoria, Oreg.; sponsored by Mrs. D. McKay;
and commissioned 14 August 1953, Lieutenant Commander R. Giamotti in
command. She was reclassified MSO-428, 7 February 1955.
Sailing from San Diego 12 June 1954 Dash arrived at Charleston, S.C.,
6 July. She sailed out of Charleston on local duty and for refresher
training at Key West, until 4 January 1956 when she got underway with
her division for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean with the 6th
Fleet. She returned to Charleston 11 June.
Dash served in the Mediterranean again between 1 May and 2 October
1957 and between 27 April and 27August 1959. Through 1962, she
operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean in amphibious and
mine warfare exercises.
PC-1592 (USS Dash)
PC-1568 class Submarine Chaser (ex Adroit class Minesweeper):
Displacement: 450 tons
Length: 173'8"
Beam: 23'
Draft: 11'7"
Speed: 17 knots
Armament: 1 3"/50, 1 40mm
Complement: 105
Cooper Bessemer diesel engine, twin screws, 1,770 shaft hp.
Built at Commercial Iron Works and commissioned as AM-88 27 October
1942
Reclassified as Sub Chaser (PC-1592) 1 June 1944
USS Dash (AM 88)
Minesweeper of the Adroit class
Navy: The US Navy
Type: Minesweeper
History: Reclassified as patrol craft PC-1592 on 1 June 1944
WELCOME ABOARD USS DETECTOR MSO-429
USS DETECTOR (MSO-429) was an Ocean going Mine Sweeper of the USS DASH
class. She was built by Astoria Marine Constuction Company in Astoria
Oregon. Laid down 1 October 1951 Launched on December 5, 1952 and
Commissioned USS Detector (AM-429), 26 January 1954; Reclassified
(MSO-429), 7 February 1955; Commanded by LT.Commander J.E. Tingle.
Sponsored by Mrs. W. Norblad.
Specifications:
Displacement 900 Tons t; Length 173'; Beam 35'; Draft 12'; Speed 14
kts; At the time of her Decommissioning :(ACTIVE COMPLEMENT)5
Officers, 45 Enlisted,(RESERVE COMPLEMENT) 3 Officers, 32 Enlisted;
Armament, as built, one single 40mm gun mount,After Refurbish, two .50
cal machine guns, final configuration, bow gun replaced by one twin
20mm gun mount, two .50cal. machine guns remain; As For Propulsion and
power, Keith Pantermoller EMC Ret served 1974-1975 States: She had (2)
GM 8-278A diesels for propulsion - one on eachshaft, two controllable
pitch propellers She had (1) GM 8-268 diesel powering a 250kw SS (ship
service)generator and an GM 871 diesel powering a 100kw SS generator.
She also had an 8-278 Magnetic and an 8-268 acoustic generator in the
forward engine room. The (4) Dirty D's were the only ones with (1)
engine on each shaft. All the rest had (2) on each shaft. This
Propulsion configuration was also confirmed by Ex ENC Robin Roberts
1980-1983 Decom Crew.
Detector sailed from San Diego 18 October 1954 to join Mine Force,
Atlantic Fleet. Following a transit of the Panama Canal, Detector
reported for duty as a unit under the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Mine Force,
Homeported in Charleston South Carolina. Along with her operations in
the local area and off Florida on mine exercises, she served tours of
duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean in 1956, 1957, and 1959.
She cruised to northern Europe between 12 May and 30 September 1958
and through 1962 took part in training and amphibious exercises. In
1959 Detector's Homeport was changed to Naval Amphibius Base, Little
Creek, Virginia where she remained until 1969. From 1954 - 1969 the
ship made numerous deployments to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic
and Caribbean. In the Summer of 1964, While attached to MinDiv 43,
Detector, Along with Dash, Direct and Dominant were assigned to the
Carribean to Patrol the Windward Passage in search of Russian ships.
Their mission was to locate and determine a particular ships mission.
In 1970 following a one year homeport return to Charleston, S.C.,
Detector was assigned to the Naval Ships Research and Development
Laboratory, Panama City, Florida during the months of February thru
March. Then it was a return trip to Charleston SC which remained her
Homeport until 1971 when she was assigned duties as a Naval Reserve
training ship and moved to Portsmouth New Hampshire .
Jack MacBrayne, Supply Officer From 1969 - 1971 offers the following
account:
Detector was assigned to Mine Warfare Research in Panama City, but
that was only for about two months around Feb & Mar 1970 And then we
returned to Charleston. In June we left Charleston on a deployment to
northern Europe and the Med. (All four of the "dirty D's went.) Ports
of call that I remember: Campelltown, Scotland; near Glascow,
Scotland; Edinburgh, Scotland (joint exercise with Royal Navy in Firth
of Forth); Plymouth, England; Bremerhaven, Germany; Ostend, Belgium;
Holland; LaRochelle, France; Rota, Spain; Naples, Italy; Palma,
Mallorca; Augusta, Sicily (several times); Piraeus (Athens), Greece
(joint exercise with Greeks - may have been NATO). We returned home to
Charleston in December.
On July 1, 1975, Detector switched type commanders and became part of
the Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Detector Moved to Newport, Rhode Island on August 12, 1977, which
remained her homeport until her decommissioning in 1982. While
transiting in the Atlantic on 09/27/78 The Detector suffered a fire in
the main engine room ten miles south of New London, Connecticut, and
was towed to Newport, Rhode Island.
Upon completion of an extensive overhaul in 1980-81, Detector resumed
fully operational status as a member of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Her
underway operational committments during that time required extensive
periods away from her Homeport and significant demands on both the
ship as well as her regular Navy Crew as well as Reserve crews.
Commencing in May 1980, Detector was a participant in Operation Solid
Shield '80. an annual Major amphibious exercise for the U.S. Atlantic
Fleet. July saw the start of an intensive refresher training period
with Fleet Training Group in Little Creek Virginia, Followed by a
three month Operational Committment to the Naval Oceanographic Office
for the conduct of an extensive environmental Survey. Upon completion
of this assignment, Detector commenced preparations for examination by
Mine Warfare Inspection Group, Charleston South Carolina. The
Webmaster was Involved in this Inspection. The Highly Successful
completion of this inspection brought with it Detector's final
certification in Mine Warfare Readiness and set the stage for yet
another successful involvement in the mine warfare phases of Operation
Solid Shield '81. Again, during Excercise Solid shield '81, She was
plagued with yet another Small engineroom fire which was quickly
extinguished. She made her way to the nearest port under her ownpower.
Detector had won many awards in her career which included the Coveted
battle "E" for fiscal years 1965, 1977. She has won the communications
"C ,The Combat information center "E" and 3 consecutive Supply "E"s.
In 1979, she was awarded the Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial award in
the Small Mess Afloat category and was also runner up for the 1965
Atlantic Fleet Admiral Arleigh Burke Award given to the ship showing
the greatest improvement in battle efficiency the previous year. More
recently, in early 1982 as a testement to her pride, Detector won the
Battle Efficiency, CIC green E, Communications green C, Engineering E,
Damage control DC and Minesweeping M. Making Her Overall Best
Minesweeper in Mine Squadron 12. A tremendous accomplishment for a NRF
MSO.
In the October 1982 Issue of Surface Warfare Magazine, Photos of
Myself, The commanding officer and other shipmates were featured (also
shown on the photo page) with the following Quote from Commanding
Officer John Jack Fellony. "The efforts of every man who served on
board Detector during the competitive cycle were superb. The Battle
Efficiency Award marks Detector as one of the top minesweepers in the
mine force today. This is a tremendous achievement for a Naval Reserve
Force Minesweeper and clearly illustrates he importance of the
combined Crew's teamwork and devotion to duty. Every Crew Member can
take Pride in this exceptional accomplishment" CDR J.J. Fellony
Commanding Officer USS DETECTOR MSO-429
From 1971 until her decomission in 1982, Detector served as a Naval
Reserve Training ship during independent and combined WESTLANT
operations, while continuing the training of it's small crew and
meeting operational commitments when the reserve contingent was not
aboard. These operations demanded regular Navy crewmembers to work
port/starboard watches for the entire length of a cruise making the
1982 awards gained have a very special meaning for the Crew. Most of
these same crew members sailed the Detector on her final voyage as
well as were part of the final decomissioning crew who took this proud
NAVALVESSEL through to her final days in a salvage yard in Charleston
S.C. her original homeport. Detector was Guest ship of honor at the
Bristol Rhode Island Annual 4th of July Celebration in 1981. The crew
also marched in the Parade. Detector participated in Operation Solid
Shield '82. The first time 4 OceanGoing Sweeps traveled without
support in many years to GITMO to show Naval presence in it's Waters.
Also in the Early months of 1982, Detector participated off of the
coast of Florida with other sweeps and destroyers in Operation Ocean
Venture '82.
From the Deck Logs of the USS Harold J. Ellison DD 864
24-APR Underway from Charleston, S.C. with Commander, Mine Squadron
Twelve embarked. USS IMPERVIOUS, USS DETECTOR AND USS FEARLESS transit
with USS HAROLD J. ELLISON to anchorage thirty miles east of Mayport,
Fl. Z-13-CC drill conducted while enroute. 25-APR Anchored off
Mayport, Fl.; commenced Ocean Venture '82 30-APR Underway for Mayport,
Fl.; Arrived Mayport, Fl. 01-MAY Underway from Mayport, Fl.; returned
to anchorage. Ocean Venture '82 continued. 05-MAY Underway, observed
planned mine detonation to conclude Ocean Venture '82. 06-MAY Arrived
Mayport, Fl.
END OF DECK LOG ENTRIES
During her final cruise in early 1982, Detector made port calls in
Gitmo, San Juan and Port Antonio Jamaica.
From the Beginning, USS DETECTOR was a part of the U.S. Navy Atlantic
Fleet. The Atlantic Mineforce During the time of her Decommissioning
was made up of one Squadron (Mine Squadron 12), and four Divisions:
121, 123, 125 and 126. Detector was part of Division 125. The Fact
that Detector was an NRF Sweep, Meant that her Nucleous Regular Navy
Crew Complement, Unlike the rest of the Commands in the Navy at the
time, Had to be efficient in several job areas throughout the ship.
Each man had to be able to handle his specific Job Classification as
well as a few others sometimes even in other departments. The cross
training on Detector helped a great deal in the small regular crew
handling the same workload as a full regular complement on other
sweeps. Decommissioned 1 October 1982; Struck from the Naval Register
12-01-83; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 January 1984
toWayne Hobbs, Huntington CA, for $22,229.The decommissioning
ceremonies for Detector were very special for her crew.The Detector
had become our safety and solitude, She was a large part of all of us.
It was even harder to see the family we had become break apart and go
seperate ways. After the Ceremonies on 1 OCT 82, I was re-assigned to
Commander MineDiv 125 for temporary duty to continue on with teardown
as a crew representitive in the yards of Charleston. It was difficult
for us to witness the slow transformation to oblivion during teardown.
Many crew members found it hard to watch as the items we were
responsible for keeping squared away for so long, carelessly torn from
her hull. A truly SAD time in our memories.
The Uss Detector will always hold a very special place in my heart and
soul. I Dedicate this website to Her and All of Her "Family" the Crews
that were a part of Her Proud Service to Her Country. I will always be
PROUD TO SAY "I am a member of the Brotherhood of "IRON MEN on WOODEN
SHIPS"
Joseph Marturano 3rd
EX-RM2
Decommissioning crewmember
USS DETECTOR MSO-429
1981 - 1983
President Navy MSO Association (NMSOA)
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