USS Meadowlark

USS Meadowlark (AMS/MSC-196) was a Bluebird-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for clearing coastal minefields.

USS Meadowlark (AMS-196), c. 1961, transiting the Panama Canal.
History
United States
Name	Meadowlark
Namesake	Meadowlark
Builder	Broward Marine, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Laid down	18 May 1953
Launched	28 August 1954
Commissioned	14 May 1955
Reclassified	Coastal Minesweeper, 7 February 1955
Stricken	1 May 1976
Identification	Hull symbol: AMS-195 Hull symbol: MSC-195
Fate	Transferred to Indonesia, 1971
Indonesia
Name	Pulau Alau
Acquired	1971
Identification	Hull symbol: M-717
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1 September 1976
General characteristics [1]
Class & type	Bluebird-class minesweeper
Displacement	362 long tons (368 t)
Length	144 ft 3 in (43.97 m)
Beam	27 ft 2 in (8.28 m)
Draft	12 ft (3.7 m)
Installed power	4 × Packard 600 hp (450 kW) diesel engines 2,400 hp (1,800 kW)
Propulsion	2 × screws
Speed	13.6 kn (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph)
Complement	40
Armament	2 × twin 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft (AA) mounts 2 × caliber .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns 1 × 81 mm mortar

Construction

Meadowlark was laid down on 18 May 1953, as AMS-196, by Broward Marine, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida; launched on 28 August 1954, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas E. Sheridan; reclassified MSC-196 on 7 February 1955; and commissioned on 10 May 1955.^[2]

East Coast operations

Meadowlark conducted shakedown training out of Charleston, South Carolina. This remained her home port into 1969, except for a period commencing February 1956, when assigned to the Naval Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Virginia. She conducted operations from Nova Scotia to the Panama Canal Zone, and in January 1967, visited Curaçao, Netherlands West Indies. With Mine Squadron 42 she twice participated in joint exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy the first time off Nova Scotia in July 1958, and again in June 1963, along the Florida coast.^[2]

Military awards and honors

An eager competitor in fleet exercises and battle problems, Meadowlark was recognized for her operational readiness. From 1962, she won five consecutive Battle Efficiency "E" Awards and accumulated an equal number of awards for excellence in mine counter measures.^[2]

Decommissioning

Meadowlark was transferred to Indonesia in 1971, and renamed Pulau Alau (M-717); struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1976; and, sold, 1 September 1976. Fate: unknown.^[1]