Minesweeper Special Device (MSS-1) pierside at American Shipbuilding, Lorraine, Ohio in April 1969. |
|
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Harry L. Glucksman |
| Builder: | Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation, Savannah, Georgia |
| Laid down: | 18 March 1944 |
| Launched: | 29 April 1944 |
| Acquired: | 1966 |
| Commissioned: | 16 June 1969 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 March 1973 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 9 September 1975 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) light 11,565 long tons (11,751 t) full load |
| Length: | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
| Beam: | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
| Draft: | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
| Propulsion: | Five outboard deck-mounted diesels with Murrat-Tregurtha Harbormaster outdrives |
| Speed: | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 1 officer and 8 enlisted men |
| Armament: | None |
| Aviation facilities: | Helicopter flight deck, one spot |
USS Harry L. Glucksman (MSS-1) was a one-of-a-kind "Special Device Minesweeper" built for the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.
The ship was laid down on 18 March 1944 as the Liberty ship SS Harry L. Glucksman (MC type EC2-S-C1) under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull MCE 2445) by the Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation of Savannah, Georgia. Launched on 29 April 1944 and delivered to the Maritime Commission on 20 May 1944, she was operated under contract by a commercial steamship company for the duration of World War II.
After the war she was returned to the Maritime Commission and laid-up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
The ship was accepted by the Navy in June 1969 after conversion by American Shipbuilding of Lorraine, Ohio, to a "Special Device Minesweeper." The ship's hull was completely gutted and a shock-hardened pilot house was fitted. Intended to sweep influence mines by detonating them with pressure wave or magnetic signature generated by her hull. In late summer of 1969, the ship underwent extensive shock testing off Key West, Florida.
Placed in service in June 1969, she was removed from service 15 March 1973 and returned to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for disposal. The Harry L. Glucksman was scrapped in 1975 at Brownsville, Texas.