Function: Designed to clear mines from vital waterways.





Entered Navy: 20 Nov 1993 (USS Osprey).





Description: In the early 1980s, the U.S. Navy began development of a new mine countermeasures (MCM) force, which included two new classes of ships and minesweeping helicopters. The vital importance of a state-of-the-art mine countermeasures force was strongly underscored in the Persian Gulf during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, and in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. To learn more about mine warfare visit the Commander Mine Warfare Command web site.



Osprey (MHC 51) class ships are mine hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. Eleven of the twelve Osprey-class Coastal Minehunter are assigned to the Reserve and homeported at Ingleside, TX. The MHC 51 has a 15-day endurance and depends on a support ship or shore based facilities for resupply. This mine hunter (coastal) is designed to operate from CONUS bases against enemy bottom and moored mines. It is the first US Navy mine countermeasures ship to be constructed of Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP). The design is based on the Italian Navy Lerici Class. Voith-Schneider rotors replace the conventional propellers of the MCM and MSO classes. The ship will have modular sweep systems which can be installed as needed.



Avenger class ships are also designed as mine hunter-killers.



These ships use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control. They are also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships' hulls are made of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) fiberglass. They are the first large mine countermeasures ships built in the United States in nearly 27 years.





General Characteristics, MHC Coastal Mine Hunters



Contractor:

Avondale Industries Inc., Gulfport, MS MHC 53, 54, 56, 57



Intermarine USA, Savannah, GA MHC 51, 52, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61 and 62





Length:

188 feet (57.3 meters)





Beam:

36 feet (11 meters)





Draft (Navigation):

12 feet 1 inch





Displacement:

893 tons (804 metric tons) full load





Ships:



USS Osprey (MHC 51)

USS Heron (MHC 52)

USS Pelican (MHC 53)

USS Robin (MHC 54)

USS Oriole (MHC 55)

USS Kingfisher (MHC 56)

USS Cormorant (MHC 57)

USS Black Hawk (MHC 58),

USS Falcon (MHC 59)

USS Cardinal (MHC 60), forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain

USS Raven (MHC 61), forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain

USS Shrike (MHC 62)





Powerplant:

Two diesels (800 hp each); two Voith-Schneider (cycloidal) propulsion systems





Speed:

10 Knots (18.4 kmph)





Combat Systems:



* AN/SLQ-48 - Mine Neutralization Equipment

* AN/SQQ-32 - Minehunting Sonar

* AN/SYQ-13 - Navigation/Command and Control

* AN/SSQ-94 - On board Trainer

* Two .50 caliber machine guns





Crew:

5 officers, 46 enlisted





Unit Operating Cost Annual Average:

~ $3,000,000