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USS Exultant (AM-441)
Encyclopedia
USS Exultant (AM-441/MSO-441) was an Aggressive-class
Aggressive class minesweeper
The Aggressive class minesweepers are a class of US-built minesweepers. They are designated as MSO , distinguishing them from the smaller coastal MSCs and inshore MSIs...
minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
The second ship to be named Exultant by the Navy, AM-441 was launched 6 June 1953 by Higgins, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
; sponsored by Miss A. Brooks, and commissioned 22 June 1954, Lieutenant R. T. Gregory in command. She was reclassified MSO-441 on 7 February 1955.
East Coast operations
Exultant first tied up at Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, her home port and headquarters for the Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, 23 July 1954. Along with the coastwise training operations vital to maintaining her readiness, she cruised to the Mediterranean to serve with the U.S. 6th Fleet in 1955, 1957-1958, and 1959-1960. During all of these tours of duty, she exercised with ships of other NATO navies, joined in fleet operations, and visited a large variety of Mediterranean ports.
In both 1956 and 1957, Exultant spent a month in northern waters, in 1956 exercising with minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
out of Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, and in 1957, participating in cold weather sweeping operations out of Argentia, Newfoundland. Her other activities through July of 1960 included fleet operations in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, as well as individual training there, amphibious exercises on the beaches of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and participation in experimental operations in the development of mine warfare.
Exultant catches on fire with loss of life
On 12 August 1960, while underway off the U.S. East Coast, Exultant suffered extensive interior damage from a flash fire in her engineering spaces. Valiant performance of duty by the minesweeper's damage controlDamage control
Damage control is a term used in the Merchant Marine, maritime industry and navies for the emergency control of situations that may hazard the sinking of a ship...
parties, and gallant help from extinguished the flames and enabled Exultant to return safely to port. Five of Exultant's crew lost their lives in the blaze.
Final status
Exultant decommissioned 30 June 1993 and was stricken from the Navy listNavy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 9 March 1994. Exultant was sold for scrapping in 2000.