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USS Adopt (AM-137)
Encyclopedia
The USS Adopt (AMc-114/AM-137/MSF-137) was an built for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1945, she was transferred to the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
under Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
as T-522. The Soviets scuttled T-522 before 1 January 1958, never having returned her to U.S. custody. The U.S. Navy was struck the vessel from the American Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register 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 the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 January 1958.
Career
Adopt was laid down on 8 April 1942 at Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc.; launched on 18 October 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth H. Hastings; and commissioned on 31 May 1943, Lt. Frank Robert Edrington in command.
After conducting shakedown training off Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
, the minesweeper proceeded to Norfolk Navy Yard for post-shakedown availability and then began a series of minesweeping tests and exercises at Little Creek, Virginia and Solomons Island, Maryland. These operations occupied her into early September, when she sailed for the west coast. Adopt made a brief stop at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and joining the Pacific Fleet. She reached San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
on 25 September.
Adopt operated at San Diego as an escort ship through 26 May 1944. That same month, she reported for duty to the Commander of the Western Sea Frontier
Western Sea Frontier
The Western Sea Frontier, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, was responsible for the sea defense of the Pacific coast of the United States and Mexico during World War II. The Western Sea Frontier was composed of many forces and commands, including the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth...
. She left the west coast on 6 June and shaped a course for Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. The ship took part in a 10-day period of antisubmarine warfare exercises in Hawaiian waters under the auspices of Commander, Task Force 1. On 23 June, she departed Hawaii in a convoy bound for Alaska.
The minesweeper reached Adak, Alaska
Adak, Alaska
Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...
on 29 June. She was subsequently based at the Naval Operating Base, Kuluk Bay, Alaska. During her service in Alaskan waters, Adopt carried out tactical and gunnery drills, held minesweeping exercises, and provided convoy escort services.
In June 1945, she steamed into the anchorage at Cold Harbor, Alaska, to begin training exercises for a crew of Russian seamen until mid-July. On 19 July 1945, Adopt was decommissioned and transferred to the Soviet Union under the terms of lend-lease. The vessel later served the Soviet Navy as T-552. The U.S. Navy reclassified the vessel MSF-7 on 7 February 1955. The Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register 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 the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 January 1958 stated that the ship had been destroyed by the Russians by demolition and noted that an appropriate settlement had been agreed upon by the two nations.