Definition
USS Pluck (AMc‑94) was an Accentor‑class coastal minesweeper of the United States Navy that served during World War II, conducting mine‑clearance operations in the Caribbean Sea.
Overview
Laid down on 7 June 1941 by the Noank Shipbuilding Company in Noank, Connecticut, Pluck was launched on 4 April 1942 and placed in service on 6 October 1942 under the command of Lieutenant (junior grade) J. C. Butt, USNR. After shakedown training in Miami, Florida, the vessel proceeded to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and subsequently operated from the U.S. naval base at Trinidad, British West Indies. Her primary mission was the detection and removal of naval mines to safeguard Allied shipping lanes throughout the Caribbean theater. Pluck was decommissioned on 12 November 1945, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 May 1946, transferred to the Maritime Commission on 24 November 1947, and later sold for civilian disposition.
Etymology/Origin
The ship’s name follows a U.S. Navy convention of assigning evocative, morale‑boosting nouns to minesweepers, “pluck” denoting courage or spirited determination. This naming practice was intended to embody the vessel’s purpose of confronting hazardous minefields.
Characteristics
- Class & Type: Accentor‑class coastal minesweeper
- Displacement: 228 tons (standard)
- Dimensions: Length 97 ft 1 in (29.59 m); Beam 22 ft (6.7 m); Draft 9 ft (2.7 m)
- Propulsion & Speed: Powered for a maximum speed of 10 knots (≈19 km/h)
- Complement: 17 personnel
- Armament: 2 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns; 2 × .30 caliber (7.62 mm) machine guns
- Hull: Wooden construction, suitable for inshore operations and minimizing magnetic signatures
Related Topics
- Accentor‑class minesweepers – the class of small, wooden‑hulled vessels designed for coastal mine clearance.
- United States Navy mine warfare – the broader context of naval mine deployment and counter‑measure operations during WWII.
- Noank Shipbuilding Company – the Connecticut shipyard that constructed Pluck and several other wartime auxiliary vessels.
- Caribbean naval operations (World War II) – the strategic role of the Caribbean Sea in protecting Allied shipping routes and the contribution of minesweepers like Pluck.
All information is drawn from publicly available naval records and the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.