USS ''PCS-1465'' was a built for 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Late in the war she was renamed and reclassified ''Minah'' (AMc-204), and in the 1950s reclassified first as AMCU-14 and later as MHC-14. Named for the

myna The mynas (; also spelled mynah) are a group of birds in the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to Iran and Southern Asia, especially Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lan ...

under a variant spelling, she was the only U.S. Navy ship of that name.

History

''PCS‑1465'' was laid down 17 June 1943 by Astoria Marine Construction Co. of

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

; launched 27 December 1943; commissioned 15 February 1944. Assigned to commander western sea frontier, ''PCS 1465'' patrolled and trained off the west coast until late in December 1944. Sailing to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

she underwent conversion to an underwater location vessel and consequently 10 January 1945 was armed and redesignated ''Minah'' (AMc 204). Following an appropriate training period she departed on 7 July in company with other coastal minesweepers for

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. While steaming beyond

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

on the last leg of her voyage hostilities ceased. Peace focused attention on the need to clear harbor areas for the restoration of commerce and in Japan to gain access for the occupation forces. Operating until 8 September around the

area, ''Minah'' then sailed to Japan and assisted in clearing mines from Sasebo Harbor. Later steaming into Pusan, Korea, on 5 October, she supervised Japanese minesweeping operations. While on this duty AMc-204 rescued the crew of a Japanese

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

which struck a mine and sank and also employed her divers in checking previously sunken ships. Additional underwater location assignments were performed at Kure Harbor before departing Korean waters on 15 January 1946. En route to the United States ''Minah'' sailed via

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

where from 8 to 25 March she helped prepare the area for the

atomic testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength. Bec ...

Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity on July 16, 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices sinc ...

. Arriving

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

, 15 May she was soon assigned to the Commander Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, and transferred her base of operations to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, by 21 July. Demobilization policies curtailed the ship’s movements until April 1947 when she undertook a series of BuShips projects in the

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and Yorktown areas. The following 4 years were spent assisting the Naval Mine Countermeasure Station at

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

. Redesignated AMCU-14 on 7 March 1952 ''Minah'' proceeded to

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

in April, one of 31 minesweepers to be converted. Local operations out of Little Creek, Virginia, and

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

, preceded a final redesignation of MHC-14 on 7 February 1955. She engaged in projects of the Operational Development Force and saw service within the 6th Naval District before she decommissioned in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, September 1959. Briefly berthed with Atlantic Reserve Fleet, her name was stricken from the Navy list on 1 November 1959. She was sold to William J. Kleb and removed from Naval custody on 8 September 1960.

Awards and honors

USS ''Minah'' (AMc-204) received one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

for her World War II service.

References

External links

*
Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - AMc-204 USS Minah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minah (AMc-204) PCS-1376-class minesweepers Ships built in Astoria, Oregon 1943 ships World War II patrol vessels of the United States World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States Harkness-class minehunters Cold War minehunters of the United States