Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship

The USS Avenger (MCM-1) underway in Hawaiian waters in July 2004
Class overview
Builders
Preceded byAbility-class minesweeper
Succeeded byLittoral combat ship
In commission1987
Completed14
Active8
Lost1
Retired5
General characteristics
TypeMine countermeasures ship
Displacement1,312 tons
Length224 ft (68 m)
Beam39 ft (12 m)
Draft15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion
  • 4 × Waukesha Diesel engines (first two ships) or 4 × Isotta-Fraschini Diesel engines (600 hp (450 kW) ea.)
  • 2 × 200 hp (150 kW) electric propulsion motors
  • 2 × shafts with controllable pitch propellers
  • 1 × 350 hp (260 kW) Omnithruster waterjet bow thruster
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement8 officers, 76 enlisted
Armament
  • Mine neutralization system,
  • 4 × .50 caliber machine guns

Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships are a class of 14 ships[1] constructed for the United States Navy from 1987 to 1994, designed to clear mines from vital waterways. The ships have the hull designator MCM.

The Avenger-class ships are being replaced by the Freedom and Independence-class littoral combat ships, as well as other MCM platforms, which use various unmanned air, surface, and undersea vehicles to detect and destroy naval mines at a standoff distance.[2]

  1. ^ "Mine Countermeasures Ships (MCM)". www.surfpac.navy.mil.
  2. ^ OPNAV N95: Expeditionary Sea Bases Ideal Ships to Operate Mine Countermeasure Mission Packages. USNI News. 28 August 2020.