USS ''Conquest'' (MSO-488) was an in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. ''Conquest'' was laid down by the J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

on 26 March 1953 as AM-488, launched on 20 March 1954 by Mrs. C. D. Henderson. She was reclassified MSO-488 on 7 February 1955, and commissioned on 8 July 1955.

Service history

One of a new type of non-magnetic minesweepers, ''Conquest'' remained operating out of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

on trials and training until 2 October 1956. She sailed to Acapulco, Mexico, for a good will visit from 10 to 14 October, then returned to Long Beach to prepare for her first tour of duty in the Far East. Sailing 4 March 1957, ''Conquest'' visited

Chinhae Jinhae District () is a district of Changwon, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring. The city front is on a sheltered, island-studded bay, and is alm ...

, South Korea, and

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

for operations with the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN, Chinese, 中華民國海軍) , colloquially known as the Taiwanese Navy ( Chinese, 台湾海军) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Navy ( Chinese, 國軍海軍) ...

;

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and various ports in Japan before returning to Long Beach on 13 September 1957 for overhaul. During 1958 she operated locally out of Long Beach and conducted a series of minesweeping exercises at

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...

, and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, from 6 October to 19 November. Between 17 August 1959 and 13 March 1960, she again served in the Far East, returning to local operations through June 1960. ''Conquest'' was decommissioned on 29 June 1994, stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 29 June 1994 and sold on 1 March 1995. ''Conquest'' was sold to Republic of China to be designated ''Yung Tzu'' (MSO-1307) for $742,779 Call sign: "November - Tango - Alpha - Whiskey"

Awards

''Conquest'' received 26 unit awards and citations: *

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...

s for Quemoy-Matsu, Vietnam and Persian Gulf (8) *

Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is a United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat." Coast ...

s (2) *

Navy E Ribbon A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

s (3) *

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

(1) * Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation Gallantry (3) * Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation 1982 (1) * Vietnam Service Medals (8)

References

* *

External links

*
USS Conquest (AM-488/MSO-488)
Ships built in Tacoma, Washington 1954 ships Cold War minesweepers of the United States Vietnam War minesweepers of the United States Yung Yang-class minesweepers Minesweepers of the Republic of China Mine warfare vessel classes {{US-mil-ship-stub