U.S. Navy Minecraft

In modern naval warfare, offensive and defensive mine operations and the ships that perform them often take a back seat to the more glamorous carrier strike groups, strategic deterrence patrols and anti-submarine operations. Despite their relatively small size and numbers, minecraft have enormous strategic and tactical value. With more than 200 photos, this book details the histories and specifications of more than 2,200 vessels that have served as minelayers and minesweepers, from World War I to today. Rare examples include the U.S. Navy’s only purpose-built mine-laying submarine, and the remarkable 36-foot “mini minesweeper.”

Ken W. Sayers is a former naval officer who served on board a Pacific Fleet destroyer escort and in the Pentagon on the staff of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs). An IBM veteran, he lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Ken W. Sayers
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 499
Bibliographic Info: 236 photos, glossary, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8202-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4754-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations 5
Introduction 13
1. Auxiliary Minelayers (ACM) 33
2. Minesweepers (AM) 45
3. Coastal Minesweepers (AMc) 67
4. Underwater Locator Coastal Minesweepers (AMCU) 81
5. Motor Minesweepers (AMS) 94
6. Mine Planters and Minelayers (CM) 110
7. Coastal Minelayers (CMc) 126
8. Light Minelayers (DM) 136
9. ­High-Speed Minesweepers (DMS) / Destroyer Minesweepers (DMS) 153
10. Mine Countermeasures Ships (MCM) 186
11. Mine Countermeasures Support Ships (MCS) 218
12. Coastal Minehunters (MHC) 231
13. Auxiliary Minelayers (MMA) 249
14. Coastal Minelayers (MMC) 253
15. Light Minelayers (DM)/Fast Minelayers (MMD) 263
16. Fleet Minelayer (MMF) 282
17. Minesweeping Boats (MSB) 288
18. Coastal Minesweepers (MSC) 299
19. Coastal Minesweepers–Old (MSCO) 321
20. Fleet Minesweepers–­Steel-Hulled (MSF) 337
21. Inshore Minesweepers (MSI) 352
22. Minesweeping Launches (MSL) 358
23. Ocean Minesweepers (MSO) 362
24. Minesweepers–Special (MSS) 379
25. Minelaying Submarine (SM) 387
26. Motor Minesweepers (YMS) 394
27. Mine Miscellany 410
28. Transfers, Sales and Exports 431
Bibliography 479
Index 483

“This book offers impressively detailed histories and descriptions of the more than 2,200 vessels that have served as minelayers and minesweepers in the U.S. Navy since World War I. More than 200 photos add to the value of this book in giving the reader information not easily found elsewhere.”—Seapower Magazine