USS Cruise

USS Cruise (AM/MSF-215) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean.

History
NameUSS Cruise
BuilderTampa Shipbuilding Company
Laid down7 December 1942
Launched21 March 1943
Commissioned21 September 1945
Decommissioned5 September 1946
ReclassifiedMSF-215 , 7 February 1955
Stricken1 July 1972
IdentificationIMO number: 7613715
Fate
  • Sold 1 March 1973, converted to a menhaden fisherman and renamed Gregory Poole;
  • intentionally sunk off Delaware Bay on 10 December 2007.
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmirable-class minesweeper
Displacement650 tons
Length184 ft 6 in (56.24 m)
Beam33 ft (10 m)
Draft9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Propulsion
Speed14.8 knots (27.4 km/h)
Complement104
Armament

She was launched 21 March 1943 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Tampa, Florida; completed by Charleston Navy Yard; and commissioned 21 September 1945, Lieutenant S. F. Luce, USNR, in command.

Cruise visited New York between 19 December 1945 and 5 January 1946, then sailed by way of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; the Panama Canal Zone; and Salina Cruz, Mexico, for San Pedro, Los Angeles, arriving 3 February. Originally destined for Pearl Harbor, she was ordered back to the east coast, sailing 20 March and arriving at Galveston, Texas, 22 April. Sailing on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cruise was placed out of commission in reserve there on 5 September 1946. She was reclassified MSF-215 on 7 February 1955. On 1 July 1972 she was struck from the Navy List.

MV Gregory Poole

On 1 March 1973, Cruise was purchased by Beaufort Fisheries, Inc., Beaufort, North Carolina, and converted to a menhaden fisherman and renamed Gregory Poole, official number 558835.

On 10 December 2007, the Gregory Poole was scuttled off the coast of Delaware onto the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef site (38°30.9′N 74°30.6′W[1]), to help form an artificial reef.[3]

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  1. "Delaware Reef Guide 2009–2010" (PDF). Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC). Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  2. "Delaware Reef Guide 2009–2010" (PDF). Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC). Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  3. "Newest artificial reef – called Del-Jersey-Land – originates with sinking of decommissioned minesweeper". DNREC. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
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