Description

On 4 March 1941 the keel was laid of the YMS-1 at the Henry B. Nevins, Inc. Shipyard in City Island, NY. This ship was the first of 561Yard Minesweepers designed by the Nevins Shipyard and built at various yards on the East Coast, West Coast and the Great Lakes. These wooden hulled minesweepers were originally intended to operate in and around the waters of the Naval Yard or Base they were assigned to, hence the "Y" in YMS. However, the U.S. Navy claims that the "Yard" designation was assigned because these vessels were built at 35 yacht yards and not larger shipyards. In either event, as was the case with most smaller naval ships and craft, these minesweepers were used in all theaters of the war all over the globe. Approximately 27 were lost during the war, with 7 alone sunk on 9 October 1945 in a typhoon off Okinawa. Two ships, YMS-304 and YMS-350, were lost to mines off the coast of Normandy, which underscores just how dangerous their duties were. The YMS-1 class was built in three sub-classes: YMS 1-134 had two funnels, YMS 135-445 had one and YMS 446-481 did not have any visible funnels. Other than the funnels, the basic design of these vessels was basically the same. These ships were well designed and many were transferred to foreign navies during World War II, such as the Free French, British, and Soviet navies. These ships also saw service during the Korean War and into the 1960’s and many were transferred in later years to Greece, the Philippines, and Brazil. Dimensions: Length – 136’ oa; Beam – 24’ 6"; Draft – 6’; Displacement: 215 tons Complement: Approximately 50; Armament: one single 3"/50, two or four 20mm Oerlikons, two depth charge racks, two depth charge throwers. Machinery: Two General Motors diesels; 1,000 bhp; two shafts; 13 knots. Please note, all Iron Shipwrights products are made-to-order and may ship separately in a combined order.