Adjutant-class minesweeper

The Adjutant-class auxiliary motor minesweepers were built for the United States Navy throughout the 1950s and 1960s, even as late as 1978. Most were loaned to foreign countries under the Military Defense Assistance Pact, with only 24 actually commissioned by the US Navy, with 13 of those eventually being transferred to foreign nations as well. Initially classified as auxiliary motor minesweepers (AMS), on 7 February 1955, they were reclassified as coastal minesweepers (minesweeper, coastal) (MSC).

The Adjutant-class minesweepers were of a wooden construction with brass and stainless steel fittings to reduce magnetic attraction. The rated displacement was 330 long tons (340 t) light and 390 long tons (400 t) at full load, though the ships of the Redwing class show a displacement of 412 long tons (419 t) and the Albatross class show a displacement of 320 long tons (330 t). They were 138 ft (42 m) between the perpendiculars with an overall length of 144 ft (44 m). They had a beam of 27 ft (8.2 m) with a 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) draft.

Half of the US ships used four Packard 300 hp (220 kW) diesel engines. The rest and most of the ships built for use by foreign nations used two General Motors 440 hp (330 kW) 8-268A diesel engines.

The first ship of the class was to be USS Adjutant (AMS-60). However, the name Adjutant was canceled and the ship was transferred to the Portuguese Navy as Ponta Delgada (M 405). The first ship commissioned by the US Navy was Bluebird. This is where the US ships got their class name. With slight changes in design, some of the ships are referred to by other class names, such as Falcon class, Redwing class, Albatross class, or even under Adjutant class.

While in the service of foreign navies they could be referred to under other class names:

• Colton, Tim (2018). "Mine-Warfare Ships (AMS, MSC, MSO, MSI, AMCU) Built Since WWII". ShipbuildingHistory.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
• Radigan, Joe. "Motor Minesweeper (AMS)". Navsource.org. Retrieved 29 March 2017.

• Blackman, Raymond V. B., ed. (1971). Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, US: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Miller, David (November 1999). The Cold War: A Military History. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24183-6.
• Moore, John, ed. (1991). Jane's American Fighting Ships of the 20th Century. New York, New York: Mallard Press. ISBN 0-7924-5626-2.

• Photo gallery of Motor Minesweeper (AMS)/Minesweeper Coastal (MSC) at NavSource Naval History