USS ''Ruff'' (AMc-59) was a

coastal minesweeper Coastal minesweeper is a term used by the United States Navy to indicate a minesweeper intended for coastal use as opposed to participating in fleet operations at sea. Because of its small size—usually less than 100 feet in length—and construct ...

acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. The first ship to be named ''Ruff'' by the Navy, ''AMc-59'', originally named ''Speaker'', was laid down in 1940 by Martinolich Shipbuilding Co.,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

; acquired by the Navy 31 December 1940; named ''Ruff'' and designated ''AMc-59'' on 5 March 1941; launched 24 April 1941; sponsored by Miss Martha Jane Shown; and placed in service 31 October 1941.

World War II service

Assigned the

14th Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

, ''Ruff'' was escorted 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 ...

where she arrived 11 March 1942 for duty. A

equipped with acoustical, magnetic and "O" type gear, she operated in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

throughout the war. From January 1943 through September, she was stationed at the section base at Bishops' Point,

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. She remained with the Hawaiian local defense forces through September 1945. ''Ruff'' was placed out of service at San Diego 23 January 1946, was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

7 February 1946, and released to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

for disposal 29 August 1947.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Ruff (AMc 59)
* http://www.shadetreephysics.com/ships/ruff.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruff (AMc-59) Ships built in San Diego 1941 ships Minesweepers of the United States Navy World War II minesweepers of the United States