USS Invade (AM-254)

History
United States
Name	USS Invade (AM-254)
Builder	Savannah Machine and Foundry Company, Savannah, Georgia
Laid down	19 January 1944
Launched	6 February 1944
Sponsored by	Miss Thayer C. Allen
Commissioned	18 September 1944
Decommissioned	7 August 1946
Reclassified	MSF-254, 7 February 1955
Stricken	1 May 1962
Fate	transferred to Mexican Navy, 30 August 1962
History
Mexico
Name	ARM DM-18
Acquired	30 August 1962
Renamed	ARM General Ignacio Zaragoza (C60), 1994
Namesake	Ignacio Zaragoza
Stricken	16 July 2001
Fate	unknown
General characteristics
Class and type	Admirable-class minesweeper
Displacement	650 long tons (660 t)
Length	184 ft 6 in (56.24 m)
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draft	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Propulsion	2 × ALCO 539 diesel engines, 1,710 shp (1,280 kW); Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear; 2 shafts;
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	104
Armament	1 × 3"/50 caliber (76 mm) DP gun; 2 × twin Bofors 40 mm guns; 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar; 2 × Depth charge tracks;
Service record
Part of:	U.S. Pacific Fleet (1944–1946); Atlantic Reserve Fleet (1946–1962); Mexican Navy (1962–2001);

USS Invade (AM-254) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific during World War II. She was decommissioned in August 1946 and placed in reserve. While she remained in reserve, Invade was reclassified as MSF-254 in February 1955 but never reactivated. In August 1962, she was sold to the Mexican Navy and renamed ARM DM-18. In 1994 she was renamed ARM General Ignacio Zaragoza (C60). She was stricken in July 2001, but her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.

U.S. Navy career

Invade was laid down 19 January 1944 by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Georgia; launched 6 February 1944; sponsored by Miss Thayer C. Allen; and commissioned 18 September 1944. After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Invade steamed to Casco Bay, Maine, for training 24 November 1944. Following these operations and additional drills out of Norfolk, Virginia, the minecraft assumed duties there as towing ship for aircraft targets and as an experimental minesweeper. She remained on this important duty through the end of the war and reported 21 September 1945 to the Mine Warfare School at Yorktown, Virginia, as a training ship.

Invade decommissioned 7 August 1946 and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Texas. She was reclassified MSF-254 on 7 February 1955, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1962. She was sold to Mexico on 30 August 1962.

Mexican Navy career

The former Invade was acquired by the Mexican Navy in August 1962 and renamed ARM DM-18. In 1994, she was renamed ARM General Ignacio Zaragoza (C60) after Ignacio Zaragoza. She was stricken on 16 July 2001,^[1] but her ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Wertheim, Eric, ed. (2007). "Mexico". The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems (15th ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-59114-955-2. OCLC 140283156.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Invade (MSF 254) - ex-AM-254

[Wertheim-1] Wertheim, Eric, ed. (2007). "Mexico". The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems (15th ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-59114-955-2. OCLC 140283156.

[1]