USS Mockingbird (AMS-27)

History
United States
Namesake	"A small bird of the thrush family, which imitates the calls of other birds; found in the southern United States."
Builder	Henry C. Grebe and Co.
Laid down	17 September 1943
Launched	23 March 1944
Commissioned	USS YMS-419,; 18 November 1944;
In service	as Mockingbird,; 17 February 1947;
Out of service	6 January 1956
Reclassified	17 February 1947
Stricken	15 November 1974
Honours and; awards	One battle star for post World War II operations; 10 battle stars for Korean war operations.
Fate	transferred to South Korea, 6 January 1956
South Korea
Name	ROKS Ko Chang (MSC-521)
Acquired	6 January 1956
Out of service	1977
Fate	Unknown
General characteristics
Displacement	270 tons
Length	136 ft (41 m)
Beam	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Draft	8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion	two 880shp diesel engines, two shafts
Speed	15 knots
Complement	32
Armament	one single gun mount, two 20 mm, two dcp

USS Mockingbird (AMS-27/YMS-419) was a

YMS-135 subclass built for the United States Navy during World War II

. She was the second U.S. Navy ship to be named Mockingbird.

History

AMS-27 was laid down as YMS-419 on 17 September 1943 by Henry C. Grebe & Co.,

Chicago, Illinois

; launched 23 March 1944; and commissioned 18 November 1944.

Following her

Yangtze River. She then returned to the United States

for an extended stay, during which she was redesignated AMS-27 and named Mockingbird 18 February 1947.

Korean War operations

At the end of 1947, Mockingbird returned to the Far East, joining

Chinhai

and then returned to Japan.

On 10 September Mockingbird was underway to pave the way for another landing, this time

Sasebo

.

She departed on her next combat mission 7 October, arriving off

Songjin before returning to Yokosuka

, her homeport, for repairs.

Her availability period cut short by the Hungnam evacuation, Mockingbird returned to

Pusan where she Joined MinDiv

33 and swept in various ports on the south coast of Korean through March.

For the remainder of the war, Mockingbird alternated between the east and west coasts of Korea, sweeping chant nets and conducting anti-junk patrols from

Songjin

. Following the signing of the Truce Agreement, 27 July 1953, Mockingbird became a unit of the escort and blockading forces which remained on patrol off Korea.

In January 1955 she returned to Japan and for the next year conducted operations primarily in the Inland Sea. During that time she was again redesignated, to MSC(O)-27, 7 February 1955.

On 6 January 1956 she decommissioned and was transferred to

Mutual Defense Assistance Program, where she served until being discarded in 1977.^[1]^[2]

Awards and honors

As YMS-419, the mine sweeper received one

battle stars

for Korean service.

References

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

^ "USS Mockingbird (AMS-27, later MSC(O)-27), 1944-1956, originally named YMS-419". USN Ships. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
^ "AMS-27 Mockingbird". NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive. NavSource. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2012.

External links

Photo gallery of Mockingbird at NavSource Naval History

[1] "USS Mockingbird (AMS-27, later MSC(O)-27), 1944-1956, originally named YMS-419". USN Ships. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER. Retrieved 13 October 2012.

[2] "AMS-27 Mockingbird". NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive. NavSource. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2012.

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