MV Galaxy (radio ship)
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The USS Density (AM-218) following its launch
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| History | |
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| 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 |
| 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: | US Pacific Fleet (1944-1947) |
| Operations: | Battle of Okinawa |
| Awards: | 3 Battle stars |
USS Density (AM-218) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean.
She was launched 6 February 1944 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Tampa, Florida; sponsored by Miss M. Farmwald; and commissioned 15 June 1944, Lieutenant Commander R. R. Forrester, Jr., USNR, in command. She was reclassified MSF-218 on 7 February 1955.
The vessel was later renamed MV Galaxy and was home to the British offshore pirate radio station Radio London.
Density arrived at San Diego, California, 23 September 1944 to serve as a training ship for the Small Craft Training Center at Terminal Island, until 2 February 1945, when she sailed for Pearl Harbor and Ulithi.
Density sortied from Ulithi 19 March 1945 to sweep mines preparatory to the invasion of Okinawa on 1 April. Patrolling off Okinawa for its capture and occupation, Density fired on the enemy in several suicide attacks. On 6 April she splashed several of the kamikaze force which struck the Fleet, then assisted USS Rodman (DMS-21), picking up 16 of her survivors and towing her to Kerama Retto. On the 22nd she splashed an enemy attacker which cleared her bridge by only 10 feet (3 m), then rescued three survivors from stricken USS Isherwood (DD-520) before resuming her patrol. Five days later she recovered the body of an enemy officer from a plane she had downed and thus obtained valuable intelligence material including a secret code book and photographs. While sweeping mines she sank an enemy suicide boat off Naha on 4 May.
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