USS Density (AM-218)
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2020) ) |
The USS Density (AM-218) following its launch
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Density |
Builder | Tampa Shipbuilding Company |
Laid down | 21 March 1943 |
Launched | 6 February 1944 |
Commissioned | 15 June 1944 |
Decommissioned | 3 March 1947 |
Reclassified | MSF-218, 7 February 1955 |
Identification | IMO number: 6421593 |
Fate |
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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 |
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Speed | 14.8 knots (27.4 km/h) |
Complement | 104 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
U.S. Pacific Fleet (1944–1947) |
Operations: | Battle of Okinawa |
Awards: |
3 battle stars |
USS Density (AM-218) was an
She was launched 6 February 1944 by
The vessel was later renamed MV Galaxy and was home to the British offshore pirate radio station Radio London.
World War II Pacific Ocean operations
Density arrived at
Density sortied from
Density sailed from
Awards
Density received three battle stars for World War II service.
Post-War decommissioning
On 29 January 1946 she arrived at Galveston, Texas, to provide services to the reserve fleet at Orange, Texas, and was placed in commission in reserve 14 May 1946. Density was decommissioned there 3 March 1947.
In February 1955 Density was sold by the U.S. Navy to be used as a Greek cargo ship and renamed MV Manoula. By 1964 she was impounded in Miami, Florida, for non-payment of harbour dues. She was bought in September 1964 and renamed MV Galaxy. She had a 50-kilowatt RCA ampliphase transmitter installed and an approximately 150-foot (50 m) antenna mast erected behind the funnel (though a height of 212 ft [65 m] was claimed for publicity purposes). She set sail from Miami on 22 October 1964 for England via Puerto Rico and Madeira. The ship arrived in the Thames Estuary on 19 November 1964. Radio Caroline's owner Ronan O'Rahilly warned Radio London that this anchorage might fall within British territorial waters. They responded by moving the ship to a position four-and-a-half miles from Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, close to Radio Caroline South's ship MV Mi Amigo. Radio London later regularly advertised this position on air as 51° 47.09" N, 01° 20.55" E.
She started broadcasting as
On 19 August she sailed to Hamburg. After Radio Caroline's ships were seized over unpaid debts the Galaxy was considered as a replacement, but was too expensive. An attempt by Erwin Meister and Edwin Bollier to buy the ship as a going concern also fell through, and they set about equipping another two ships, the later of which broadcast as Radio North Sea International.
The Galaxy remained in Hamburg until 1970 when she was sold for scrap. She remained in Hamburg until 1975 when she was moved to the shipyard and harbour of Howaldswerke-Deutsche Werft at Kiel. On 20 April 1979 she sank at its mooring there and stayed on the bottom until August 1986 when a conservation lobby persuaded the authorities to raise her due to concerns about pollution from fuel leaks. She was raised and moved to dry land where she was scrapped.
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 Density at NavSource Naval History