USS Inaugural (AM-242)
38°36′41″N 90°11′17″W / 38.611483°N 90.188101°W
USS Inaugural (in dazzle camouflage) during World War II
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History | |
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United States | |
Builder | Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company |
Laid down | 22 May 1944 |
Launched | 1 October 1944 |
Commissioned | 30 December 1944 |
Decommissioned | 9 September 1946 |
Reclassified | MSF-242, 7 February 1955 |
Stricken | 1 March 1967 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type | Admirable-class minesweeper |
Displacement | 530 tons |
Length | 184 ft 6 in (56.24 m) |
Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
Speed | 15 knots (27.8 km/h) |
Complement | 104 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Operations: | Battle of Okinawa |
Awards: |
2 Battle stars |
USS Inaugural (AM-242) was an
In 1968, she was set up as a museum ship in St. Louis, Missouri. In the Great Flood of 1993, Inaugural was ripped from her mooring, ran aground, and rolled on her side a mile downstream. As of December 2017, the hulk was still sitting on the Missouri side of the river.[1] In the Fall 2021, a historic low level of the Mississippi River allowed the hulk to become visible.[2]
Operations
Inaugural was built and launched by the
Following shakedown off the
During the desperate struggle for Okinawa, Inaugural patrolled the seas around the island group, often firing at Japanese aircraft as they made suicidal efforts to destroy the ships supporting the invasion force. Except for 19–24 July, when the ship put to sea to ride out the great typhoon, Inaugural remained in the dangerous waters around Okinawa until 30 August 1945.
With the war over, she steamed to the waters around Japan and Korea for minesweeping operations that were a necessary prelude to occupation. She swept the approaches to
The minesweeper sailed on 24 December for the United States, via Saipan and Pearl Harbor, and arrived at
Overall, Inaugural cleared 82 mines and was awarded two
Museum ship
In 1968, Inaugural was towed to St. Louis and established as a floating museum. The vessel was designated as a National Historic Landmark on 14 January 1986, as one of two surviving Admirable-class minesweepers used in the Pacific during World War II.
On 1 August 1993, during flooding of the Mississippi River, Inaugural broke loose from her moorings at the Gateway Arch. The ship suffered a breach in her hull, took on water, and rolled on her port side. She sank on the Missouri side of the river, half a mile south of the Poplar Street Bridge. She has since remained in that position, partially submerged.
Plans to salvage the wreck in one piece and restore it were deemed unfeasible. The ship was determined a total loss. Inaugural's Landmark designation was withdrawn on 7 August 2001,[3] because she had ceased to meet the criteria. In January 2013, the river dropped so low that one may walk up to the ship. Scrapping work was set to begin in January, but river levels rose again. She is still in the same location with a few pieces of metal missing from the start of scrapping.[4] As of October 2021, she is still sitting where she came to rest and can be seen when the river is at or below average level.
See also
References
- The Riverfront Times.
- ^ "Low Mississippi River Water Levels Reveal Sunken WWII Ship". 20 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ "U.S.S. Inaugural (AM-242)". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.