USS Rival (MSO-468)

USS Rival (AM-468/MSO-468) was an Agile-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.

History
United States
Laid down: 1 February 1952
Launched: 15 August 1953
Commissioned: 3 September 1954
Decommissioned: 15 May 1970
Stricken: 1 February 1971
Homeport: Charleston, South Carolina
Fate: sold, August 1971
General characteristics
Displacement: 775 tons (full load)
Length: 172 ft (52 m)
Beam: 36 ft (11 m)
Draught: 10 ft (3.0 m)
Speed: 15 knots
Complement: 74
Armament: one 40 mm mount

Rival was laid down 1 February 1952 by the Luders Marine Construction Co., Stamford, Connecticut; designated AM-468; launched 15 August 1953; sponsored by Mrs. F. X. Forest; and commissioned 3 September 1954, Lt. William M. Georgen in command.

East Coast operations

Redesignated MSO-468 in February 1955, Rival was assigned as flagship, Mine Division 85 during shakedown. In March 1955 she began operations out of her homeport of Charleston, South Carolina. Based there since that time, she has operated primarily along the U.S. East Coast, rotating biennially, except for 1962, to the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.

She participated in Fleet and NATO exercises and, in 1966, in the successful search (20 February to 8 April) for a nuclear bomb lost off Palomares, Spain in the Palomares hydrogen bombs incident. During her operations with the U.S. 2d Fleet, she has conducted exercises in the Charleston area and off Puerto Rico and has provided services at Yorktown, Virginia, and at Mayport, Florida, and Panama City, Florida. In 1961, she added Caribbean deployments to her schedule and continued them through the decade.

Her last Med cruise of the 1960s

In December 1968, Rival returned from her last Mediterranean cruise of the 1960s. Through 1969 she remained in the western Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean. In 1970, she prepared for modernization. She arrived at the Todd Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York, on 10 June to begin the work, however the contract was terminated 16 October 1970 for the convenience of the government. Rival, along with three other ships of her class, was towed to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for storage pending final disposition.

Decommissioning

Rival was decommissioned 15 May 1970 and struck from the Navy list on 1 February 1971. In August 1971, Rival, and her three sisters, were sold to Mr. Charles Gural of Rahway, New Jersey, with the Navy receiving $2,700 for Rival.

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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