USS Velocity (AM-128)

USS Velocity in 1942
History
United States
NameUSS Velocity (AM-128)
BuilderGulf Shipbuilding Corporation, Chickasaw, Alabama
Laid down21 July 1941
Launched15 April 1942
Commissioned4 April 1943
Decommissioned7 October 1946
ReclassifiedMSF-128, 7 February 1955
Stricken1 July 1972
Honours &
awards
5 battle stars (World War II)
FateSold to Mexico, 1 July 1972
Mexico
NameARM Ignacio L. Vallarta (C82)
NamesakeIgnacio L. Vallarta
Acquired1 July 1972
Reclassified
  • G14
  • P113, 1993
Statusin active service, as of 2007
General characteristics
Class & typeAuk-class minesweeper
Displacement890 long tons (904 t)
Length221 ft 3 in (67.44 m)
Beam32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement100 officers and enlisted
Armament

USS Velocity (AM-128) 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. She was the second warship to bear the name.

Velocity was laid down on 21 July 1941 at Chickasaw, Alabama, by the Gulf Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 15 April 1942; sponsored by Mrs. K. B. Hover, the wife of the shipbuilder's destroyer hull foreman; and commissioned on 4 April 1943.