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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Defiance (AMc 73)



Call sign:
Nan - Fox - Baker - Uncle
Accentor Class Coastal Minesweeper:

  • The second Defiance was laid down 10 April 1941 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, RI
  • Launched 21 June 1941
  • Placed in service 24 November 1941
  • Attached to the 10th Naval District in the Caribbean and operated off San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Placed out of service in 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register in December 1945
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in June 1947
  • Acquired in 1947 by the Pure Oil Co. of Chicago, IL for use as an oil exploration vessel and renamed Leo Huff
  • In December 1947 the ship was off the coast of Louisiana doing a type of oil exploration work known as "seismographic blasting" using dynamite. The ship was being operated by a Pure Oil crew while
    the blasting operations were conducted by a Geotechnical Corp. of Delaware (Geotech) crew. On 5 December 1947 an explosion occurred onboard resulting in the deaths of three Geotech employees and the loss of the ship. It was later determined that Lawrence Adam Pizzo was holding just over 33 pounds of dynamite in his hands when it exploded. Wires, blasting caps, batteries and radio waves were involved in the operation but the exact cause of the detonation was never determined.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 190 t.
  • Length 97' 1"
  • Beam 22'
  • Draft 9'
  • Speed 10 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One .50 cal. machine gun
  • Propulsion: One 400bhp Superior K.N.B. diesel engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Defiance 205k National Archives photo 19-N-25742 Mike Green
    Photo added 6 October 2019
    Defiance 185k c. 1943
    Naval Air Station San Juan, Puerto Rico    		 LCDR Orlando Gallardo, Jr., USN
    View the Defiance (AMc 73)
    DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway website
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