USS Hummingbird (AMS-192) was a Bluebird-class motor minesweeper

Motor minesweeper

A motor minesweeper is a small minesweeper, powered by an internal combustion engine, very often of wooden construction, designed to locate and destroy mines in coastal waters and harbours...

 acquired by the U.S. Navy for clearing coastal minefields.

The second ship to be named Humming Bird by the Navy, usually spelled Hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

 (MSC-192), was originally classified: AMS-192, but reclassified 7 February 1955. She was launched by Quincy Adams Yacht Yard, Inc., Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

, 27 January 1954; sponsored by Mrs. Felice Low; and commissioned 9 February 1955, Lt. (j.g.) W. J. Whitley in command.

East Coast operations

Following shakedown

Shakedown (testing)

A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...

 training off 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...

, in June, Hummingbird underwent minesweeping training at 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...

, in July. From 21 October to 14 November she took part in her first amphibious exercises, sweeping the landing area and dropping marker buoy

Buoy

A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...

 to guide the simulated assault on the shores of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. Arriving New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 8 January 1956, she took part in surveying work for the Hydrographic Office

Hydrographic office

A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information.Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic surveys and the publication of nautical charts...

 until 15 February, after which Hummingbird returned to Charleston.

Participating in NATO exercises

During 1957 and 1958 the ship was based at Mine Warfare School, 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....

, and in March 1958 she participated in another large amphibious operation at Onslow, North Carolina. In 1959 she shifted her home port to the amphibious base at Little Creek, Virginia, and continued to perform minesweeping duties during the periodic practice assaults on the Atlantic coast. She arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, 6 October 1960 to take part in Sweep Clear V, a NATO minesweeping exercise with Canadian mine craft, returning to Little Creek 26 October. In July 1961 Hummingbird repeated this highly successful combined exercise in Canadian waters.

Cuban crisis alert status

The year 1962 saw more rigorous mine warfare training for Hummingbird, with amphibious operations at Onslow and in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. The versatile ship also took part in a search for a downed Air Force plane off Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

 1 June before departing for 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...

, to take part in mine experiments. September included a third NATO minesweeping exercise. As American naval power quarantined Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 in October, Hummingbird stood ready in case larger operations were necessary, and in early 1963 took part in patrols off Cuba. From 1963 to 1967 the veteran minesweeper continued her training and readiness operations, a vital part of America's fighting power on the seas.

Decommissioning

Hummingbird was transferred to Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 in 1971 as Pulau Impalasa (M 720); struck from 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...

, 1 May 1976; returned to U.S. custody; and, disposed of through the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service

Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service

DLA Disposition Services is part of the United States Defense Logistics Agency...

for scrap, 1 September 1976.