Soviet minesweeper T-114

T-114 was a minesweeper of the Soviet Navy during World War II. She had originally been built as USS Alchemy (AM-141), an Admirable-class minesweeper, for the United States Navy during World War II, but never saw active service in the U.S. Navy. Upon completion she was transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease as T-114; she was never returned to the United States. T-114 was sunk by U-365 in the Kara Sea in August 1944. Because of the Cold War, the U.S. Navy was unaware of this fate and the vessel remained on the American Naval Vessel Register until she was struck on 1 January 1983.

History
United States
Name	USS Alchemy (AMc-118)
Builder	Tampa Shipbuilding Company
Reclassified	AM-141, 21 February 1942
Laid down	8 April 1942
Launched	7 December 1942
Completed	11 August 1943
Fate	Transferred to the USSR, 11 August 1943
Reclassified	MSF-141, 7 February 1955
Stricken	1 January 1983
History
Soviet Union
Name	T-114
Acquired	11 August 1943
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by U-365, 13 August 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Admirable-class minesweeper
Displacement	650 tons
Length	184 ft 6 in (56.24 m)
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draft	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Propulsion	2 × ALCO 539 diesel engines, 1,710 shp (1.3 MW) Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear 2 shafts
Speed	14.8 knots (27.4 km/h)
Complement	104
Armament	1 × 3-inch/50-caliber gun DP 2 × twin Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar 2 × Depth charge tracks

Career

Alchemy was laid down on 8 June 1942 at Tampa, Florida, by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co.; sponsored by Mrs. W. E. Edgarton; and completed on 11 August 1943. On the same day that she was completed, Alchemy was turned over to the Soviet Navy under the terms of the lend-lease program. She served the Soviets as T-114, until she was torpedoed and sunk 13 August 1944 in the Kara Sea by the German submarine U-365.

Alchemy was carried on the American Navy List as MSF-141 after 7 February 1955, until struck on 1 January 1983.

References

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

External links

• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Archived 30 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
• NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive – Alchemy (MSF 141) – ex-AM-141 – ex-AMc-118