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USS Inflict (AM-456)
Encyclopedia
USS Inflict (AM-456/MSO-456) 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 Inflict by the Navy, AM-456 was launched 16 October 1953 by Wilmington Boat Works, Inc., Wilmington, California; sponsored by Mrs. Robert E. Carlson; and commissioned 11 May 1954, Lt. G. T. Ragon in command.
West Coast operations
After shakedownShakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
along the U.S. West Coast, Inflict engaged in sonar and minesweeping exercises until she departed Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, 1 July for the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Arriving Yokosuka, Japan 5 August she began operations with the navies of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Nationalist China, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, In February 1955 she was reclassified MSO 456. Inflict returned to Long Beach 17 February 1956 and spent the remainder of the year on training operations.
Second Far East tour
During 1957 Inflict continued operations off CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, helping to maintain one of America's mighty antisubmarine warfare forces. The minesweeper sailed 3 January 1958 for duty in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. She arrived there as a crisis loomed in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The strength of this mighty armada
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
made itself felt as the crisis diminished quickly without incident.
Between 19 - 22 March 1958, Inflict participated in Exercise "Bulwark", the first bilateral exercise between Philippine and US Navy called. It took part in the 3rd phase of the exercise which taken place in the waters of Corregidor and Caballo Islands.
During her tour Inflict participated in joint exercises with the Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Chinese Nationalist navies before returning to Long Beach 15 July.
West Coast exercises
For the next 20 months she remained in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
waters constantly training to keep at peak readiness. Inflict sailed 3 May 1960 for joint operations with our Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n allies, remaining there for the next 6 months as a symbol of joint naval co-operation for security of the Free World. She resumed to Long Beach 16 November. During 1961, Inflict was engaged in minesweeping operations and midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
training out of Long Beach. She sailed 7 April 1962 for exercises in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an waters, returning to Long Beach 17 August. In 1963, in addition to her training in California waters, Inflict sailed 28 October for joint countermeasure exercises with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Returning to Long Beach 3 December she resumed operations out of Long Beach until 22 May 1964 when she sailed for duty in the Far East. Inflict again operated with the friendly navies of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and during the summer was deployed for service along South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, as our support of that embattled republic was increased to assist its struggle against aggression. Inflict returned to Long Beach 7 December.
Supporting Market Time operations
She sailed for the Far East 7 February 1966. Arriving Subic BaySubic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
28 March, she headed for her "Market Time" station 5 April and remained on patrol preventing the infiltration of arms and men from North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
to the south. Except for brief interludes, she continued this important duty until she left the war zone 1 November and returned to Long Beach 13 December.
Inflict operated on the West Coast through mid-1967.
Persian Gulf Service
USS Fearless (MSO-442)
USS Fearless was an . She was the third United States Navy ship to carry the name.Fearless was launched on 17 July 1953 by Higgins, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana; sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Higgins, Jr.; and commissioned on 22 September 1954, Lieutenant J. Roberts in command...
and USS Illusive (MSO-448) were towed to the Gulf of Oman
Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman is a strait that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It is generally included as a branch of the Persian Gulf, not as an arm of the Arabian Sea. On the north coast is Pakistan and Iran...
by USS Grapple (ARS-53)
USS Grapple (ARS-53)
USS Grapple is a Safeguard-class salvage ship in the United States Navy. She is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.In 2000, she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.-Role:...
departing Little Creek, Virginia on September 6, 1987. Traveling via the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and arriving in the Gulf of Oman November 2, 1987. At the time, the 9000 nautical miles (16,668 km) trip was the longest distance three ships were towed by one. Implicit would remain in the Gulf to support of Operation Earnest Will
Operation Earnest Will
Operation Earnest Will was the U.S. military protection of Kuwaiti owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.The U.S. Navy warships that escorted the tankers, part of...
.