USS Bold (AM-424)
Encyclopedia
USS Bold (AM-424) was an Aggressive-class
minesweeper
acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of clearing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
Bold was laid down on 12 December 1951 by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
; launched on 14 March 1953; sponsored by Mrs. Porter Hardy, Jr.; and commissioned on 25 September 1953, Lt. Douglas C. Pearson in command.
, and a brief training period in Chesapeake Bay
, she began a series of special trials in conjunction with the Bureau of Ships
, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
, and the New York Naval Shipyard. Those trials lasted from early October 1953 to early June 1954.
coast. At the end of the summer of 1954, the minesweeper entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
for five months of modifications and post-shakedown repairs. On 7 February 1955 near the end of the overhaul, Bold was reclassified an ocean minesweeper
and redesignated MSO-424.
On 15 February 1955, after nearly a year and a half of active duty, the warship
entered port at the home of the Atlantic Fleet
Mine Force, Charleston, South Carolina
, for the first time in her career. That spring, after three weeks of intensive training, Bold participated in her first annual minesweeping exercise. On 2 May, she stood out of Charleston in company with the other ships of Mine Division (MinDiv) 83 to embark on her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea
. She and her division mates arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, on 18 May and, soon thereafter, joined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. During the ensuing four months, the minesweeper made port visits and conducted bilateral minesweeping exercises with units of the navies of Italy
, Greece
, and Spain
. Bold concluded that tour of duty in the latter part of September and reentered Charleston, South Carolina
, on 4 October.
After five weeks of the relative inactivity that usually follows a deployment, she steamed south early in November to enter the drydock of a civilian contractor at Jacksonville, Florida
. When those repairs were completed in mid-December, Bold moved to the Naval Mine Defense Laboratory at Panama City, Florida
, where she spent the first five months of 1956 assisting in the development of technology and tactics relative to mine warfare. In June, the minesweeper returned to Charleston where she began a four month overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard
. She completed that repair period in October and embarked upon a schedule of training missions in the local operating area in preparation for deployment to the Mediterranean again in January 1957.
83. She entered the Mediterranean during the last week of the month and began five months of the usual drills, exercises, and port calls associated with a 6th Fleet assignment. She arrived back in Charleston, South Carolina
, on 16 June and remained there through the middle of July for the normal post-deployment leave and upkeep period.
At that time, the minesweeper sailed north to Yorktown, Virginia
, where she served as a training vehicle for the Mine Warfare School and whence she participated in a major Atlantic Fleet
mine warfare exercise in the vicinity of the Virginia Capes
. Bold returned south at the beginning of September, made a brief visit to Charleston, and then continued south to Key West, Florida
, where she carried out missions for the Mine Development Detachment located there. She completed that assignment in mid-October and reentered Charleston on the 20th. For the remainder of 1957, the warship pursued a routine schedule of independent ship's exercises out of her home port.
that consumed the next 16 weeks. The minesweeper devoted the balance of the summer to refresher training and preparations for overseas movement. She stood out of Charleston on 29 September and arrived at Gibraltar
on 16 October. She made port visits and conducted exercises in the "middle sea" for a little less than four months before heading back to the United States
early in 1959. Bold sailed back into her home port on 11 February 1959 and commenced post-deployment standdown.
The warship
resumed normal activity at the beginning of March. She carried out a special project for the Commander, Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, between 8 and 10 March and then visited Savannah, Georgia
, for St. Patrick's Day. Bold spent the first 10 days of April undergoing repairs at a civilian drydock in Charleston and then took up the usual training evolutions in the local operating area once again. She continued so employed through the end of the year and during the first two months of 1960.
for regular overhaul. She completed the repairs early in May and returned to Charleston on the 12th. Refresher training and minesweeping drills took up the balance of May and most of June. On 28 June, Bold departed Charleston for a midshipman
training cruise to the West Indies that lasted through the summer. She arrived back in Charleston on 13 September but, after two weeks alongside a tender, got underway again on 2 October. The ship steamed north to Canadian waters where she participated in Operation Sweep Clear V
. Bold returned to Charleston from that exercise on 26 October and resumed the familiar roles of training vehicle and test platform, for the Mine Warfare School and the mine service tests, respectively.
Normal duty along the Atlantic seaboard continued into the early months of 1961. On 10 April 1961, Bold departed Charleston in company with the rest of MinDiv 83 on her way to another tour of duty with the U.S. 6th Fleet. Over the ensuing six months, she operated as an element of Task Force
(TF) 62, conducting exercises and visiting a number of Mediterranean ports. The minesweeper returned to Charleston in October and spent the remainder of 1961 in port preparing for and executing a yard overhaul.
Bold completed repairs early in February 1962 and devoted the rest of the month and most of March to refresher training. In April, the minesweeper participated in amphibious exercises at Vieques Island, near Puerto Rico
, and at Onslow Beach, North Carolina. The month of May brought upkeep in Charleston and, in June, she traveled to Panama City, Florida
, where she provided services to the Navy's Mine Defense Laboratory.
, Santo Domingo
in the Dominican Republic
, and Ocho Rios
in Jamaica
. Bold returned to Charleston on 9 November and, following a tender availability, resumed local operations on the 21st. Though occasionally called upon to perform special missions at various locations along the east coast
, the minesweeper
generally stayed close to her home port for the next 18 months.
That employment came to an end late in the spring of 1964. On 15 May, she stood out of Charleston in company with her division mates for another deployment to the Mediterranean Sea
. She made a stop along the way at Bermuda
and arrived at Malaga, Spain, on 3 June. Bold participated in several amphibious exercises and other training evolutions and visited a number of ports on the shores of the Mediterranean. After about five months of such duty, she departed Huelva, Spain, on 30 October to return to the United States
. Arriving back in Charleston on 17 November, Bold spent the remainder of the year in port.
, where she occupied the following month carrying out missions in support of the Mine Defense Laboratory at Panama City, Florida
. She and her division mates left the Florida panhandle
on 1 August and, after making a port call at Veracruz, Mexico
, reentered Charleston on the 17th. The minesweeper spent most of what remained of 1965 in port at Charleston preparing for a regular overhaul projected for the beginning of 1966.
The overhaul began on schedule in mid-January, and Bold emerged from the Jacksonville Shipyard at Charleston on 19 April. After sea trials, she resumed local operations out of Charleston and remained so occupied until the beginning of August. On 5 August, the minesweeper put to sea for three weeks of special operations near Puerto Rico
. She returned to Charleston on 29 August. On 26 September, Bold plunged into two months of intensive exercises, three weeks of refresher training followed by another four weeks of type training. That demanding schedule ended with her return to Charleston on 20 November. The warship
concluded the year with an extended period of relative inactivity in her home port.
on 16 April and became elements of Task Unit (TU) 61.7.3. For almost five months the minesweeper ranged the length and breadth of the Mediterranean Sea
, participating in a variety of exercises both multinational and unilateral in character. When not so engaged, the warship made liberty calls and goodwill visits to ports throughout the Mediterranean. Following turnover formalities at Rota, Spain
, Bold headed back to the United States
on 2 September. She returned to Charleston on the 16th and stood down for about a month to allow her crew ample opportunity to take post-deployment leave.
Bold resumed local operations late in October but did not really accelerate to a normal pace until the beginning of 1968 when she began service as a training platform for the Mine Warfare School. She alternated duty as a school ship with periods of type training and independent ship's exercises during the first four months of 1968. On 6 May, the minesweeper entered Detyen's Shipyard at Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, for an 11-week overhaul. Bold left the yard on 22 July and took up normal operations at the end of the month. Early in October while carrying out a mission in support of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory Test Facility at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
, she suffered damage to her main propulsion plant that put her in the Jacksonville Shipyard for two months. Bold returned to active service in December just in time to put to sea with USS Bulwark (MSO-425)
on the 20th to search for an aircraft that had gone down at sea off the Virginia Capes
. The search proved unsuccessful, and she returned to Charleston late Christmas Eve
.
The minesweeper began 1969 with refresher training out of her home port. In February, she assisted Atlantic Fleet
destroyers in quality assurance testing on their weapons systems. Type training conducted along the coasts of South Carolina
and Florida
occupied the month of March. On 1 May, Bold departed Charleston with MinDiv 83 bound for a month of exercises in the Caribbean Sea
codenamed Operation Halcon Vista IV
. Upon her return to Charleston at the beginning of June, she resumed local operations. During the fall, she underwent an interim drydocking at the Jacksonville Shipyard and participated in quality assurance testing on weapons for Atlantic Fleet destroyers once again.
on 28 February 1975, and she was sold to Tucson One Hour, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio
, in June 1981.
Aggressive class minesweeper
The Aggressive class minesweepers are a class of US-built minesweepers. They are designated as MSO , distinguishing them from the smaller coastal MSCs and inshore MSIs...
minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of clearing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
Bold was laid down on 12 December 1951 by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
; launched on 14 March 1953; sponsored by Mrs. Porter Hardy, Jr.; and commissioned on 25 September 1953, Lt. Douglas C. Pearson in command.
Special sea trials
Bold did not report for normal duty with the Mine Force for 17 months after her commissioning. Instead, following outfitting at Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, and a brief training period in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, she began a series of special trials in conjunction with the Bureau of Ships
Bureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
, and the New York Naval Shipyard. Those trials lasted from early October 1953 to early June 1954.
East Coast operations
At the end of the first week in June 1954, Bold finally embarked upon her delayed shakedown cruise that she conducted off the New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast. At the end of the summer of 1954, the minesweeper entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
for five months of modifications and post-shakedown repairs. On 7 February 1955 near the end of the overhaul, Bold was reclassified an ocean minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
and redesignated MSO-424.
On 15 February 1955, after nearly a year and a half of active duty, the warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
entered port at the home of the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
Mine Force, Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, for the first time in her career. That spring, after three weeks of intensive training, Bold participated in her first annual minesweeping exercise. On 2 May, she stood out of Charleston in company with the other ships of Mine Division (MinDiv) 83 to embark on her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. She and her division mates arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, on 18 May and, soon thereafter, joined the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. During the ensuing four months, the minesweeper made port visits and conducted bilateral minesweeping exercises with units of the navies of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Bold concluded that tour of duty in the latter part of September and reentered Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, on 4 October.
After five weeks of the relative inactivity that usually follows a deployment, she steamed south early in November to enter the drydock of a civilian contractor at Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. When those repairs were completed in mid-December, Bold moved to the Naval Mine Defense Laboratory at Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
, where she spent the first five months of 1956 assisting in the development of technology and tactics relative to mine warfare. In June, the minesweeper returned to Charleston where she began a four month overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard
Charleston Naval Shipyard
Charleston Naval Shipyard was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston...
. She completed that repair period in October and embarked upon a schedule of training missions in the local operating area in preparation for deployment to the Mediterranean again in January 1957.
Second Mediterranean cruise
Midway through the first week in January, Bold set out across the Atlantic with the other units of MinDivMinDiv
MinDiv is a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "Minesweeper Division."The Commander of a minesweeper division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINDIV , such as COMMINDIV EIGHT....
83. She entered the Mediterranean during the last week of the month and began five months of the usual drills, exercises, and port calls associated with a 6th Fleet assignment. She arrived back in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, on 16 June and remained there through the middle of July for the normal post-deployment leave and upkeep period.
At that time, the minesweeper sailed north to Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, where she served as a training vehicle for the Mine Warfare School and whence she participated in a major Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
mine warfare exercise in the vicinity of the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
. Bold returned south at the beginning of September, made a brief visit to Charleston, and then continued south to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, where she carried out missions for the Mine Development Detachment located there. She completed that assignment in mid-October and reentered Charleston on the 20th. For the remainder of 1957, the warship pursued a routine schedule of independent ship's exercises out of her home port.
Overhaul at Charleston
Normal operations out of Charleston occupied her time during the first quarter of 1958 as well. On 28 March 1958, however, Bold began an overhaul at the Charleston Naval ShipyardCharleston Naval Shipyard
Charleston Naval Shipyard was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston...
that consumed the next 16 weeks. The minesweeper devoted the balance of the summer to refresher training and preparations for overseas movement. She stood out of Charleston on 29 September and arrived at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 16 October. She made port visits and conducted exercises in the "middle sea" for a little less than four months before heading back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
early in 1959. Bold sailed back into her home port on 11 February 1959 and commenced post-deployment standdown.
The warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
resumed normal activity at the beginning of March. She carried out a special project for the Commander, Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, between 8 and 10 March and then visited Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, for St. Patrick's Day. Bold spent the first 10 days of April undergoing repairs at a civilian drydock in Charleston and then took up the usual training evolutions in the local operating area once again. She continued so employed through the end of the year and during the first two months of 1960.
Norfolk shipyard overhaul
On 2 March 1960, the minesweeper entered the Norfolk Naval ShipyardNorfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
for regular overhaul. She completed the repairs early in May and returned to Charleston on the 12th. Refresher training and minesweeping drills took up the balance of May and most of June. On 28 June, Bold departed Charleston for a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
training cruise to the West Indies that lasted through the summer. She arrived back in Charleston on 13 September but, after two weeks alongside a tender, got underway again on 2 October. The ship steamed north to Canadian waters where she participated in Operation Sweep Clear V
Operation Sweep Clear V
Operation Sweep Clear V was a U.S. Navy fleet operation in Canadian waters during the Fall of 1960.-External links:*...
. Bold returned to Charleston from that exercise on 26 October and resumed the familiar roles of training vehicle and test platform, for the Mine Warfare School and the mine service tests, respectively.
Normal duty along the Atlantic seaboard continued into the early months of 1961. On 10 April 1961, Bold departed Charleston in company with the rest of MinDiv 83 on her way to another tour of duty with the U.S. 6th Fleet. Over the ensuing six months, she operated as an element of Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
(TF) 62, conducting exercises and visiting a number of Mediterranean ports. The minesweeper returned to Charleston in October and spent the remainder of 1961 in port preparing for and executing a yard overhaul.
Bold completed repairs early in February 1962 and devoted the rest of the month and most of March to refresher training. In April, the minesweeper participated in amphibious exercises at Vieques Island, near Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and at Onslow Beach, North Carolina. The month of May brought upkeep in Charleston and, in June, she traveled to Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
, where she provided services to the Navy's Mine Defense Laboratory.
West Indies cruise
On 20 July, after nearly three weeks back at her home port, USS Bold got underway for a four-month cruise to the West Indies. When not engaged in exercises, she made liberty calls at such places as Guantánamo Bay, San JuanSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, and Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios
Ocho Ríos is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica. Although he landed in many spots along the Jamaican coast, many believe that Christopher Columbus first set foot on land in Ocho Rios...
in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Bold returned to Charleston on 9 November and, following a tender availability, resumed local operations on the 21st. Though occasionally called upon to perform special missions at various locations along the east coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, the minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
generally stayed close to her home port for the next 18 months.
That employment came to an end late in the spring of 1964. On 15 May, she stood out of Charleston in company with her division mates for another deployment to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. She made a stop along the way at Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and arrived at Malaga, Spain, on 3 June. Bold participated in several amphibious exercises and other training evolutions and visited a number of ports on the shores of the Mediterranean. After about five months of such duty, she departed Huelva, Spain, on 30 October to return to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Arriving back in Charleston on 17 November, Bold spent the remainder of the year in port.
Drydock period in Savannah
Bold began 1965 with normal operations out of Charleston. Early in February, however, she entered the yard at the Savannah Machine & Foundry for an interim drydock period. The minesweeper completed those repairs at the beginning of March and resumed normal duty at Charleston. At the end of June, Bold departed her home port in company with her colleagues of MinDiv 83 and set a course for the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, where she occupied the following month carrying out missions in support of the Mine Defense Laboratory at Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
. She and her division mates left the Florida panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
on 1 August and, after making a port call at Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
, reentered Charleston on the 17th. The minesweeper spent most of what remained of 1965 in port at Charleston preparing for a regular overhaul projected for the beginning of 1966.
The overhaul began on schedule in mid-January, and Bold emerged from the Jacksonville Shipyard at Charleston on 19 April. After sea trials, she resumed local operations out of Charleston and remained so occupied until the beginning of August. On 5 August, the minesweeper put to sea for three weeks of special operations near Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. She returned to Charleston on 29 August. On 26 September, Bold plunged into two months of intensive exercises, three weeks of refresher training followed by another four weeks of type training. That demanding schedule ended with her return to Charleston on 20 November. The warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
concluded the year with an extended period of relative inactivity in her home port.
Tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet
She began 1967 with type training carried out in cooperation with her colleagues of MinDiv 83. Between early February and mid-March, the minesweeper underwent repairs at the Jacksonville Shipyard in Charleston in preparation for another tour of duty with the 6th Fleet. Bold embarked upon that deployment on 30 March. She and her division mates arrived at GibraltarGibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 16 April and became elements of Task Unit (TU) 61.7.3. For almost five months the minesweeper ranged the length and breadth of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, participating in a variety of exercises both multinational and unilateral in character. When not so engaged, the warship made liberty calls and goodwill visits to ports throughout the Mediterranean. Following turnover formalities at Rota, Spain
Rota, Spain
-External references:*, official website * On-line since 1999! News, premiere information, pictures, weather, etc. Into Spanish, English... ****- External links :...
, Bold headed back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 2 September. She returned to Charleston on the 16th and stood down for about a month to allow her crew ample opportunity to take post-deployment leave.
Bold resumed local operations late in October but did not really accelerate to a normal pace until the beginning of 1968 when she began service as a training platform for the Mine Warfare School. She alternated duty as a school ship with periods of type training and independent ship's exercises during the first four months of 1968. On 6 May, the minesweeper entered Detyen's Shipyard at Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, for an 11-week overhaul. Bold left the yard on 22 July and took up normal operations at the end of the month. Early in October while carrying out a mission in support of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory Test Facility at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, she suffered damage to her main propulsion plant that put her in the Jacksonville Shipyard for two months. Bold returned to active service in December just in time to put to sea with USS Bulwark (MSO-425)
USS Bulwark (AM-425)
USS Bulwark was an Aggressive-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships....
on the 20th to search for an aircraft that had gone down at sea off the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
. The search proved unsuccessful, and she returned to Charleston late Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
.
The minesweeper began 1969 with refresher training out of her home port. In February, she assisted Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
destroyers in quality assurance testing on their weapons systems. Type training conducted along the coasts of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
occupied the month of March. On 1 May, Bold departed Charleston with MinDiv 83 bound for a month of exercises in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
codenamed Operation Halcon Vista IV
Operation Halcon Vista IV
Operation Halcon Vista IV was a United States Navy fleet exercise in the Caribbean Sea during May 1969.-External links:*...
. Upon her return to Charleston at the beginning of June, she resumed local operations. During the fall, she underwent an interim drydocking at the Jacksonville Shipyard and participated in quality assurance testing on weapons for Atlantic Fleet destroyers once again.
Decommissioning
In January 1970, Bold embarked upon her final year of active service with the U.S. Navy. In those last 12 months, the minesweeper carried out normal operations along the southern portion of the Atlantic seaboard. In January 1971, she began preparations for inactivation. Bold was decommissioned at Charleston on 2 July 1971, and she remained there, in reserve, until early in 1975. Her name was struck from the Navy listNavy List
A 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 country....
on 28 February 1975, and she was sold to Tucson One Hour, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, in June 1981.