USS ''Defender'' (MCM-2) was an mine countermeasures ship in the service of 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 ...

. She entered service in September 1989 and was decommissioned in October 2014.

History

It was laid down on 1 December 1983 at

Marinette Marine Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Mari ...

Corp.,

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephe ...

; launched on 4 April 1987; and commissioned on 30 September 1989. As of 1 July 2009, she was active in Mine Countermeasures Squadron Seven, U.S. Pacific Fleet, permanently forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan. ''Defender'' was decommissioned at San Diego on 1 October 2014. As of 2019, she is in reserve as a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Systems

Auxiliary systems: three Waukesha ship service

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of an engine generator. A diesel compress ...

sets, one

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

generator, one omnithruster bow thruster system.

Electronic system Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors *Electronics (magazine), ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electron ...

s: one AN/SSN-2 Precise Integrated

Navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

System (PINS), one AN/SQQ-32 Mine Hunting

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

, one AN/SPS-55 Surface

Radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, one AN/WSN-7

Gyro compass A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth (or another planetary body if used elsewhere in the universe) to find geographical direction automatically. A gyrocompass make ...

, Mine

Countermeasure A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...

Equipment Suite, one AN/SLQ-48 (V) Mine Neutralization System, one AN/SQL-37 (V) 3

Magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...

/ Acoustic Influence

Minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of removing explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that purpos ...

Gear, Oropesa type 0 size 1

Mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

Sweep Equipment, MDG 1701 Marconi

Magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

Degaussing Degaussing, or deperming, is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not ...

System.

Operations

For a review of current year-to-year operations of USS ''Defender''), including operations after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, see:
Index for Histories/Command Operations Reports submitted by Defender (MCM 2)

* ttp://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2005/09/sec-050915-nns01.htm Defender Clears Way for Shipping off Gulf Coast (2005)

References

External links

Ship's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defender (MCM-2) Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships Ships built by Marinette Marine 1987 ships Minehunters of the United States