Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive
Right patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Engage (MSO 433)
ex-AM-433



Call sign:
November - Mike - Oscar - Mike
Aggressive Class Minesweeper:

  • Laid down 7 November 1951 at Colberg Boat Works, Stockton, CA
  • Launched 18 June 1953
  • Commissioned USS Engage (AM-433), 29 June 1954
  • Reclassified as an Ocean Minesweeper, MSO-433, 7 February 1955
  • Decommissioned 30 December 1991
  • Struck from the Navy Register 20 April 1992
  • Sold for scrap 15 April 1994 to NRA Acquisition, Inc. of New York, NY and sub-contracted to Wilmington Resources Inc. of Wilmington, NC
  • Repossessed by the Navy after contractor defaulted due to sub-contractor being closed by state of North Carolina for environmental pollution
  • Sold for scrap 4 December 2000 to Baltimore Marine Industries of Baltimore, MD.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 775 t.
  • Length 172'
  • Beam 35'
  • Draft 12'
  • Speed 14 kts.
  • Complement 78
  • Armament: As built, one 40mm gun mount and two .50 cal. machine guns. Final configuration, bow gun replaced by one twin 20mm gun mount, two .50 cal. machine guns remain
  • Propulsion: Four Packard ID1700 diesel engines, replaced by four Waukasha Motors Co. diesel engines, two shafts, two controllable pitch propellers.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Engage 43k J. William Cupp's
    Website for USS Engage
    Engage 146k William Lange
    Fortify, Engage & Impervious 246k Fortify (MSO 446), Engage, and Impervious (MSO 449) steaming with an unidentified minesweeper Tom Lawson
    Engage/Fortify/Impervious 538k Portland, Oregon
    Engage, Fortify (AM 446) and Impervious (AM 449) at the Rose Festival Fleet Week    		 Tommy Trampp
    Engage 102k . Richard Miller, BMCS, USNR, Ret.
    Fortify/Engage 26k c. Summer 1960
    Fortify and Engage anchored at Hong Kong
    Photo taken from Inflict (MSO 456) by Floyd Farrar    		 Floyd Farrar
    Engage 316k 13 December 1966
    Mine Division 71 Welcome Home pamphlet    		 Tom Nutt
    Engage 173k
    Engage 169k
    Engage 181k
    Dominant, Engage & Leader 344k Leader (MSO-490), Engage and Dominant (MSO 431) in port during the Mariel Boatlift 1980
    U.S. Navy photo by PH3 Greg Hilton from the Wright Langley Collection courtesy of Florida Keys Public Libraries    		 Robert Hurst
    Engage 329k 2 July 1983
    Moored at Pier 3 during a port visit to the Washington Navy Yard as part of Mine Group TWO of the Naval Reserve Force
    U.S. Navy photo DN-ST-83-11248.    		 Original photo: Bill Gonyo
    Replacement photo: Robert Hurst
    Engage 398k 2 July 1983
    A view of the amidships section showing a paravane in its storage rack
    U.S. Navy photo DN-ST-83-11254    		 Bill Gonyo
    Engage 370k 6 July 1983
    Departing Washington Navy Yard
    National Archives photo ARC 6369574 by Don S. Montgomery, USN    		 Robert Hurst
    Engage 114k Naval Cover postmarked 29 March 1984, Jacksonville, FL Tommy Trampp
    Commanding Officers
    01LT Sidney Joseph Martin, USN29 June 1954 - July 1955
    02LT/LCDR Donald Lees Hadaway, USNJuly 1955 - 3 July 1957
    03LT/LCDR William George Madill, Jr., USN3 July 1957 - 9 October 1959
    04LCDR Lester Eugene Zook, USN9 October 1959 - September 1961
    05LCDR Wayne Harry Adkin, USNSeptember 1961 - 5 July 1963
    06LCDR John Elwin Arnold, USN5 July 1963 - 18 March 1965
    07LCDR John Valentine Hall, USN18 March 1965 - 1 September 1967
    08LCDR William Mitchell Crowe, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 19571 September 1967 - 1 November 1968
    09LT Robert Charles Bartlett, USN - - USNA Class of 1964
    Officer-in-charge of conversion    		1 November 1968 - 22 March 1969
    10LTJG William Joseph McCarthy, IV, USN - USNA Class of 1967
    Officer-in-charge of conversion    		22 March 1969 - 2 July 1969
    11LTJG/LT Alan Whitney Humphrey, USN2 July 1969 - 22 June 1970
    12LCDR Robert Douglas Forster, USN - USNA Class of 196322 June 1970 - 13 April 1972
    13LCDR John Bullard Mitchell, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 196513 April 1972 - 7 December 1973
    14LCDR Richard James Norman, USN - USNA Class of 19657 December 1973 - 10 October 1975
    16LCDR Henry Nicholas Didier, USN10 October 1975 - 21 April 1978
    17LCDR David A. Jones, USN21 April 1978 - 21 July 1980
    18CDR Robert Dale Zvacek, USN - USNA CLass of 196621 July 1980 - 17 July 1982
    19LCDR Donald Andrew Frahler, USN - USNA Class of 1972
    Retired as Captain    		17 July 1982 - 13 August 1984
    20LCDR Robert D. Finney, USN13 August 1984 - 1985
    21LCDR Roger Keith Hope, USN - USNA Class of 19711985 - 26 April 1987
    22LCDR John G. Hegeman, USN26 April 1987 - 22 April 1988
    23LCDR James W. Stevenson, USN22 April 1988 - July 1988
    24LCDR Peter Wyncoop, Jr., USNJuly 1988 - 15 August 1988
    25LCDR Jerome E. Grause, USN15 August 1988 - 4 October 1988
    26LCDR George T. Foster, USN4 October 1988 - December 1990
    27LCDR Victor A. Edelmann, Jr., USNDecember 1990 - April 1991
    28CDR Robert A. Higgins, USNApril 1991 - April 1991
    29LCDR Donald M. Jackson, USNApril 1991 - October 1991
    30LCDR Victor A. Edelmann, Jr., USNOctober 1991 - 30 December 1991
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Peter M. Leenhouts
    View the Engage (MSO-433)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Additional Resources and Websites of Interest
    102 Minesweepers (MSO) Oceangoing Minesweepers
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Ocean Minesweeper (MSO) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page was created by Gary P. Priolo & maintained by Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory) & David Wright
    All Pages © 1996 - 2023, NavSource History, All rights reserved.