USS Climax (AM-161)

	An Admirable-class Minesweeper, like the USS Climax
History
United States
Name	USS Climax
Builder	Willamette Iron and Steel Works
Laid down	26 May 1942
Launched	9 January 1943
Commissioned	24 March 1944
Decommissioned	31 May 1946
Reclassified	MSF-161, 7 February 1955
Fate	Scrapped in 1959
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"/50 caliber gun DP; 2 × twin Bofors 40 mm guns; 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar; 2 × Depth charge tracks;
Service record
Part of:	US Pacific Fleet (1944-1946)

USS Climax (AM-161) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean.

She was launched 9 January 1943 by Willamette Iron and Steel Works, Portland, Oregon; and commissioned 24 March 1944.

World War II Pacific Ocean operations

From May to September 1944 Climax served as a school ship at U.S. Naval Small Craft Training Center, San Pedro, California. After brief overhaul she sailed on convoy escort duty to Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Ulithi, returning to Eniwetok 20 December. Until 6 March 1945 she operated out of Eniwetok on convoy escort duty to Ulithi, Guam, and Saipan. She escorted a resupply convoy to Iwo Jima 13 March as fighting continued on the island, remaining on screening duty until 18 March. Returning to Eniwetok 29 March, Climax resumed her convoy escort duty to Ulithi and Guam and acted as training ship for submarines as well as aiding in the expansion of anchorage facilities at Eniwetok.

Following overhaul at Guam, Climax sailed for Saipan, Okinawa and Wakayama, Honshū, where she conducted sweeping operations from 11 September 1945 to 18 October in support of the landing of Allied occupation troops. She remained in Matoya Ko as a pilot vessel until 19 December 1945 when she cleared Nagoya for San Diego, California, arriving 16 February.

Post-War Decommissioning

Climax was placed out of commission in reserve there 31 May 1946. She was reclassified MSF-161, 7 February 1955. She was scrapped in 1959.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Photo gallery of Climax at NavSource Naval History