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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

MSC-143
ex-AMS-143


AMS-143 was built for Spain
Bluebird Class Motor Minesweeper:

  • Laid down as AMS-143 by the South Coast Co., Newport Beach, CA
  • Originally intended for France as Roselys (M 698), order canceled and alloted to Spain
  • Launched 25 July 1953
  • Completed 1 October 1954
  • Transferred to Spain and named Llobregat (M 22), 5 November 1954
  • Reclassified by U.S. Navy as a Coastal Minesweeper, MSC-143, 7 February 1955
  • Damaged by fire 24 April 1979 and deemed uneconomical for repairs
  • Struck from the Naval Register 4 July 1979 and scrapped.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 405 t.
  • Length 144' 3"
  • Beam 27' 2"
  • Draft 12'
  • Speed 13 kts.
  • Complement 40
  • Armament: One twin 20mm mount
  • Propulsion: Packard diesel engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    MSC-143 247k La Spezia, Italy Carlo Martinelli
    MSC-143 224k c. 1969
    Valletta, Malta
    Photo by A. & J. Pavia    		 Robert Hurst
    M-22 90k From late 1976 on, Llobregat was used as a patrol craft off the Catalonian coast, though she retained her minesweeping gear, as can be seen in this photograph taken at Barcelona, Spain, 6 December 1976. Fabio Peña
    M-22 70k Rear view of the bridge area. Barcelona, Spain, 6 December 1976
    M-22 95k A rainy, gray day in Barcelona, 30 December 1976
    M-22 82k Severely damaged by fire on 24 April 1979, her repair was deemed uneconomical. This view shows her at the yard, on 6 May, while damage was being evaluated; her mast is gone and the effects of fire on the superstructure are clearly visible, despite the distance
    There is no DANFS history available for MSC-143
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