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USS Kingfisher (MHC-56)
USS Kingfisher on the Hudson River
USS Kingfisher on the Hudson River, 2003
Career (USA) Flag of the United States
Name: USS Kingfisher
Namesake: Kingfisher
Awarded: 29 March 1991
Builder: Avondale Shipyards
Laid down: 12 February 1993
Launched: 18 June 1994
Acquired: 24 July 1996
Commissioned: 26 October 1996
Decommissioned: 1 December 2007
Status: Awaiting disposal
Badge: USS Kingfisher MHC-56 Crest
General characteristics
Class & type: Osprey-class coastal minehunter
Displacement: 868 tons (light) 955 tons (full)
Length: 188 ft (57 m)
Beam: 36 ft (11 m)
Draft: 11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion: Two diesels (800 hp each)
Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 5 officers and 46 enlisted
Armament: Mine neutralization system & two .50 caliber machine guns

USS Kingfisher (MHC-56) was the sixth ship of Osprey-class coastal mine hunters. She is named after the kingfisher.

Kingfisher was decommissioned in a joint ceremony along with three other Coastal Mine Hunters. She was transferred to a Naval Inactive Ships Storage Facility to await transfer under Foreign Military Sales. She was the last Coastal Mine Hunter (MHC) in active service with the US Navy.

Current Status[]

The US Senate has approved the sale of the ship to India along with MHC-57 Cormorant in September 2010.

References[]


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