 USS Thrush (MSC-204), steaming out of Key West, Florida
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Thrush |
| Namesake | Thrush |
| Builder | Tampa Marine Company, Tampa, Florida |
| Laid down | 7 May 1954 |
| Launched | 5 January 1955 |
| Commissioned | 8 November 1955 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1975 |
| Reclassified | Coastal Minesweeper, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 August 1977 |
| Homeport |
|
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Virginia |
| United States | |
| Name | Virginia Sea |
| Operator | VIMS |
| Acquired | 1 July 1975 |
| Refit | Ocean Research Vessel |
| Fate | Scrapped 1 August 1982 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class & type | Bluebird-class minesweeper |
| Displacement | 320 long tons (330 t) |
| Length | 144 ft (44 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 39 |
| Armament | 2 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft (AA) mounts |
USS Thrush (MSC-204) was a Bluebird-class minesweeper in the service of the United States Navy from 1955 to 1975.
The second Thrush was laid down 7 May 1954, by Tampa Marine Company, Tampa, Florida; launched on 5 January 1955, as AMS-204; sponsored by Mrs. Edgar S. Russell; reclassified as MSC-204, on 7 February 1955; and commissioned on 8 November 1955.[2]
Soon after her commissioning in November 1955, Thrush arrived in Chesapeake Bay to conduct a successful shakedown cruise. In 1956, she was assigned to the Yorktown, Virginia, Mine Warfare School, followed in August by assignment to Norfolk, Virginia, to participate in Operation Hideaway. In 1957, Thrush moved to her new homeport in Key West, Florida, where she tested and evaluated new mine warfare equipment for the 6th Naval District's Mine Warfare Evaluation Detachment.[2]
While serving as a Naval Reservist, then-Lieutenant, later Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. was Thrush's commanding officer from 1968 to 1969.[3]
In 1974, she assisted in expanding the Osborne Artificial Reef.[4]
Online resources
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