USS Improve (AM-247)

History

World War II (1939-1945) required all forms of naval firepower - from aircraft carriers and battleships to submarines and fast attack platforms. One of the more important classes of ships are minesweepers, these ships are tasked with eliminating potential threats to major fleets, shipping or amphibious assault - the main threat being mines. To this end, the new Admiral class was formed and 147 ships were planned for the group, which ended up in service with the United States, the Soviet Union, China and many other countries.

123 were completed and 24 were cancelled.

The ships had a displacement of 625 tons, a length of 184 feet, a beam of 33 feet, and a draft of 10 feet. Its propulsion scheme consists of 2 ALCO 539 series diesel engines, each producing 1,710 hp and driving 2 shafts. Under ideal conditions, the design is expected to reach 15 knots.

Her crew consists of 104 officers and men, and the ship's armament consists of a 1 x 3"/50 caliber "dual-purpose" trainable deck gun, 2 to 4 x 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (two, two emplacements) and 8 x 20mm Oerlikon AA automatic cannons (in four positions, two guns). For anti-submarine work, the modified USS relies on the "Mousetrap" missile launcher or "Hedgehog" anti-submarine mortar pair of depth charge racks and 2 "K-Gun" deep shot launcher.

USS Improvement (AM-247) was a key member of the class, managing careers in the Atlantic Fleet from 1944 to 1945 and the Pacific Fleet from 1945 to 1946. She received two battle stars for her service.

Her hull was laid by Savannah Machine Foundry on June 1, 1943, and launched on September 26 of that year. She officially entered service on February 29, 1944. Their first duty is to train and then to support the team.

USS Improvement arrives in time to support the Allied landings in southern France ("Operation Dragoon"; 15 August-14 September 1944). She and her five sisters searched for mines (Mine Squadron 11) with six auxiliary ships and two Royal Navy ships.

They have also pioneered an airship technology that has been shown to detect and identify potential hover hazards from a distance. If necessary, their guns were also used against enemy coastal positions. In March 1944, the aircraft carrier Improved participated in the Anzio landings.

The ship was stationed in Mediterranean waters before returning home in April 1945. It then sailed through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Theater, arriving in California in July. She trained until the end of the war - the Japanese surrender in August.

After the war, the USS Improvement continued to conduct more demining operations as many areas remained a danger to warships and merchant ships. She then retired on 6 November 1946 and spent the rest of her time in commercial service as MV Ecuador (from 1949).

When her usefulness ended, she sank in 1953.

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