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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Blackbird (MHC 11)
ex-AMCU-11
ex-LCI(L)-515



LCI(L)-515 call sign:
Nan - Queen - Yoke - Oboe
AMCU-7 Class Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator):

  • Laid down 9 November 1943 by the New Jersey Shipbuilding Co., Barber, NJ
  • Launched 4 December 1943
  • Commissioned USS LCI(L)-515, 10 December 1943 under the command of LTJG H. W. Brown, Jr., USN
  • Participated in the following operations:
    Invasion of Normandy 6 - 25 July 1944, and
    Invasion of Southern France 15 August - 25 September 1944
  • Reclassified as a Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator), AMCU-11, 10 March 1945
  • Named Blackbird 3 January 1955
  • Reclassified as a Coastal Minehunter, MHC-11, 7 February 1955
  • Decommissioned 2 April 1958
  • Struck from the Naval Register in 1960
  • Fate unknown.

    LCI Specifications:

  • Displacement 216 t.(light), 234 t.(landing), 389 t.(loaded)
  • Length 158' 5½"
  • Beam 23' 3"
  • Draft: Light 3'1½" mean, Landing, 2' 8" forward, 41'10" aft, Landing, 5'4"forward, 5'11" aft
  • Speed 16 kts. (max.), 14 kts. maximum continuous
  • Complement 23, Troop Capacity, six Officers, 182 Enlisted
  • Cargo Capacity 75 tons
  • Armor 2" plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house
  • Endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts., loaded 500 miles at 15 knots
  • 110 tons of fuel
  • Armament: Four single 20mm guns one forward, one amidship, two aft, later added two .50 cal. machine guns
  • Fuel Capacity 130 tons, lube oil 200 gal.
  • Propulsion: Two sets of four General Motors 6051-71 diesel engines, 4 per shaft, 1,600 bhp, twin variable pitch propellers.

    AMCU Specifications:

  • Displacement 387 t.
  • Length 159'
  • Beam 23' 8"
  • Draft 5' 8"
  • Speed 14.4 kts.
  • Complement 41
  • Armament none
  • Propulsion: Two sets of four 1,800bhp General Motors 6051-71 diesel engines, General Motors single reduction gear, two shafts, variable pitch propellers.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS LCI(L)-515)
    LCI(L)-515 264k c. 1945
    Chesapeake Bay
    Photo from the collection of Ed Mariani    		 Ed Mariani
    LCI(L)-515 225k c. 1945
    Ed Mariani, USNR 1944 - 1946
    Photo from the collection of Ed Mariani
    Blackbird 380k Crew photo Frederick J. Moisson
    Collection Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
    Museum of Military History
    5210 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway
    Kissimmee, Florida 34746
    USS Blackbird (MHC 11)
    Blackbird
    Namesake:

    The common blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species. It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory

    		 Tommy Trampp
    Blackbird 65k c. 1956
    U.S. Navy photo from the Naval Institute Archives    		 Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory)
    There is no DANFS History currently available for Blackbird (MHC 11)
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    This page was created and maintained by Joseph M. Radigan (of blessed memory) & & David Wright
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