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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Observer (AMc 91)



Call sign:
Nan - William - Fox - How
Accentor Class Coastal Minesweeper:

  • Laid down 6 September 1941 by F. L. Fulton, Antioch, CA
  • Launched 15 January 1942
  • Placed in service as USS Observer (AMc 91), 14 April 1942
  • Placed out of service 10 December 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register 8 May 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission 21 August 1947
  • Sold to the Douglas family who owned Douglas Oil which became Costa Mesa oil
  • Sold in 1979 to the McIntosh Foundation of Wellington, FL. They operated her until 2002 when they sold her to Gary Baxter
  • Sold in March 2004 to Rusty and Kimberly Owen (Sea Wolf Adventures) of Gustavus, AK and renamed Sea Wolf.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 228 t.
  • Length 97' 1"
  • Beam 22'
  • Draft 9' 1"
  • Speed 10 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: Two .50 cal. machine guns
  • Propulsion: One 376bhp Hooven-Owens-Rentschler diesel engine (replaced by a Hamilton Marine Diesel), one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Observer (AMc 91)
    Observer 75k c. 1942 Robert Hurst
    Observer 94k 28 April 1942
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo 2155-42    		 Tracy White
    MV Sea Wolf
    Observer 79k Hopkins Landing, British Columbia, Canada Sea Wolf Adventures
    Observer 133k .
    Observer 65k 20 August 2005
    Underway in Icy Strait while whale watching off Point Adolphus, AK
    Photo courtesy of Marine Exchange of Alaska    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01LT Malcolm McVickar, USNR14 April 1942 - 19 April 1942
    02LT Bryan Hooker Smith, Jr., USN19 April 1942
    Courtesy of Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    View the Observer (AMc 91)
    DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Naval Minewarfare Association
    Association of Minemen
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Coastal Minesweeper (AMc) Photo Index
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