USS Vigilance
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | USS Vigilance |
| Ordered | As HMS Exploit (BAM-24) |
| Builder | Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle, Washington |
| Laid down | 28 November 1942 |
| Launched | 5 April 1943 |
| Commissioned | 28 February 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 30 January 1947 |
| Reclassified | MSF-324, 7 February 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1966 |
| Honours and awards | 3 battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Transferred to the Philippines, 19 August 1967 |
| Philippines | |
| Name | BRP Manuel Quezon (PS-70) |
| Namesake | Manuel L. Quezon |
| Acquired | 19 August 1967 |
| Decommissioned | 1 March 2021 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Auk-class minesweeper |
| Displacement | 890 long tons (904 t) |
| Length | 221 ft 3 in (67.44 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 100 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
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USS Vigilance (AM-324) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Vigilance was originally laid down for the Royal Navy under the lend-lease program as HMS Exploit (BAM-24) on 28 November 1942 at Seattle, Washington, by Associated Shipbuilders. However, the United States Navy decided to keep the ship and renamed her USS Vigilance (AM-324) on 23 January 1943. Launched on 5 April 1943, the minesweeper was commissioned at her builder's yard on 28 February 1944.
After fitting-out, radio direction finder calibration, sea trials, and minesweeping indoctrination, Vigilance departed Seattle, Washington on 21 March, bound for southern California for type training, shakedown, and training in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tactics.