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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Ampere (ADG 11)
ex-YDG-11



YDG-11 call sign:
Nan - Jig - Zebra- King

ex-Drake (AM 359)



Drake call sign:
Nan - How - Yoke - Victor

ex-PCE-919

Admirable Class Minesweeper:

  • Originally planned as a Patrol Craft Escort, PCE-919
  • Laid down 24 November 1943 as the Minesweeper, Drake (AM 359) by Willamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland, OR
  • Launched 12 August 1944
  • On 20 April 1945 her named was canceled and she was reclassified as a District Degaussing Vessel, YDG-11
  • Placed in service as USS YDG-11, 15 August 1945
  • Placed out of service in 1946
  • Reclassified as a Degaussing Ship, ADG-11, 1 November 1947
  • Decommissioned in November 1947 and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet San Diego Group
  • Placed in service in July 1951
  • Named Ampere 1 February 1955
  • Placed out of service in February 1957
  • Struck from the Navy list 1 July 1961
  • Sold 21 June 1962 to the Philippine President Lines of Manila
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 625 t.
  • Length 184' 6"
  • Beam 33'
  • Draft 9' 9"
  • Speed 14 kts.
  • Complement 68
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
  • Propulsion: Two 1,710shp Busch Sulzer 539 diesel engines, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Drake (AM 359)
    Ampere 50k Namesake: Drake. A drake is a fully sexually mature adult male duck of any duck species, wild or domestic. The term drake refers exclusively to males. Photo is of a
    male mallard    		 Tommy Trampp
    Photo added 22 June 2020
    YDG-11
    Ampere 111k Photographed by her builder while underway on 14 August 1945
    National Archives photo 19-N-88322 from the Naval Historical Center at Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Ampere (ADG 11)
    Ampere 137k Photographed between 1951 and 1957 after her reactivation, probably in Japanese waters Naval Historical Center
    Ampere 62k c. 1955/56 -
    Ampere 91k Photo from the December 1956 edition of All Hands magazine Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory)
    Ampere 106k Original photo: Photo courtesy of Ted Stone from the 1958/1959 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships
    Replacement photo: Photo courtesy Ted Stone    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01LT John B. Fallon, USNR15 August 1945
    02LT William Henry Hudgins, USNR6 October 1945
    03LT Leroy M. Johnston, USNR28 March 1946
    04LTJG Robert M. Snyder, USNR18 December 1946 - 15 January 1947
    05LT Walter Jackson, USN1951 - October 1952
    06LCDR Alford Robert Norris, USNOctober 1952
    07LCDR George Wilber Mitchell, USN1956 - January 1957
    08LCDR Raul Brown Perez, USNJanuary 1957 - February 1957
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:

    Ampere - A unit of measure for the strength of an electric current. The ampere is named for Andre Marie Ampere who established the relationship between electricity and magnetism.

    Drake (AM-359)-an Admirable-class minesweeper-was laid down on 24 November 1943 at Portland, Oregon, by the Willamette Iron & Steel Corp. and launched on 12 August 1944. On 20 April 1945, her name was cancelled, and she was redesignated a degaussing vessel, YDG-11. The ship was placed in service on 15 August 1945, the day after Japan capitulated.

    Due to the cessation of hostilities, YDG-11 saw little or no active service before being berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, Calif. She was retained on an inactive, in service, status until the winter of 1946 and 1947 when she was placed out of service, in reserve. On 1 November 1947, she was redesignated ADG-11. The ship remained inactive until July 1951 when she was again placed in service. Assigned to the Far East, ADG-11 was based at Yokosuka, Japan, until sometime in 1954. After that, her home port was Sasebo, Japan. On 1 February 1955, she was named Ampere. The ship was placed out of service in February 1957. She remained in reserve in the Far East until the summer of 1961 when the decision was made to dispose of her. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1961, and she was sold on 21 June 1962 to the Philippine President Lines, of Manila.
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