USS Parrot MSC-197 and Boy Scout Troop 238

[gwb123]

When I was growing up, I was lucky to be part of a very active Boy Scout troop. We went camping 10 to 12 months a year, and sometimes they went really far afield.

 

Surprisingly, and to this day I don't know how they did it, our leaders got us hooked up to spend a weekend on a live, functioning US Navy minesweeper. Granted it was in Reserve status at Atlantic City, NJ, but it was still more exciting than camping in the Poconos.

 

As best I can remember we drove from outside Philadelphia to Atlantic City and arrived at night. We boarded and bunked down. I am thinking there were about a dozen or so of us, and one of the qualifiers was that we all had to have our swimming merit badge. I think that was less about concern about the ship and the more likely event that one of us would fall overboard at the pier!

 

To really appreciate this you have to realize a stiff, cool breeze was blowing, the flags were flying, the radar was spinning and you could not only hear but feel the hum of the engines. This was heady stuff when you are 15!

 

The really surprising aspect of this was Saturday morning we actually went to sea! I'm not sure how far we went out, but it was far enough that Atlantic City was a dot on the horizon.

[gwb123]

Some info about the ship from Wikipedia:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Parrot_%28MSC-197%29

 

USS Parrot was a Falcon Class minesweeper, llaid down as AMS–197 on 23 December 1953 at Broward Marine Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida and launched on 27 November 1954; sponsored by Mrs. S. Heuer. Reclassified MSC–197 on 7 February 1955, and commissioned on 28 June 1955

 

After fitting out and training, Parrot, along with four other minesweepers, participated in cold weather minesweeping exercises in the North Atlantic. Parrot then moved to Charleston, South Carolina, her base for exercises and training operations in the Caribbean and the Gulf Stream. She remained there until January 1958, when she sailed north to participate in her first NATO exercise. In February, 1958, the Parrot was dispatched to the waters off Savannah, Georgia to participate in a search for a nuclear weapon jettisoned by a bomber. Upon completion, she returned to the Caribbean area where she remained into 1961, conducting training exercises and serving as training ship for the Mine Warfare School. In March 1961, she assisted in helping to evaluate the new helicopter method of minesweeping. After completion of this duty, she returned to her training and patrol duties.

 

On 22 October 1962, Parrot was ordered to get underway, with no destination being specified. She was later directed to assist in the Cuban Quarantine operation. After this duty, she returned to Charleston. Once again she resumed her training and patrolling duties. On 1 March 1963, she left Charleston with orders to search for the overdue SS Marine Sulphur Queen. Finding nothing, Parrot returned to port on 18 March. Resuming patrol duties and training exercises, Parrot also made annual deployments to the Caribbean until August 1968.

 

Decommissioned and placed in service on 26 September 1968, Parrot became a Naval Reserve Training Ship at Atlantic City. Placed out of service on 20 July 1972, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 August 1972, Parrot was sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for scrapping on 1 December 1976.

 

 

[gwb123]

Here's a photo of our next door neighbor at the Coast Guard pier...

[gwb123]

This is the view coming aboard ...

[gwb123]

Bridge and mast...

[m1ashooter]

Cool trip. I fondly remember our invational camporees at West Point.

[gwb123]

One thing about a minesweeper is the decks are crammed with all kind of strange equipment.

[gwb123]

US Army Corps of Engineers Dredge Hyde... this was the only other government vessel that we saw on our way out of port.

 

We were all hoping for a submarine or aircraft carrier as we joined the fleet!

[gwb123]

The coolest thing on ship of course was that it was armed.

 

These appear to be WWII vintage twin 20mm mounted forward.

 

When the Parrot got far enough out they threw a large box overboard and took shots at it pretending it was a surfaced mine.

 

As I recall, they didn't score very many hits, especially with the deck rolling in the open sea.

 

It gave me a better appreciation of the fact that this was not as easy as it looks.

[gwb123]

I'm not sure that the ship was fully manned, but it is rated at 39 personnel to begin with.

 

We slept in crew corners... fine for a bunch of scrawny teenagers, but I wondered even then how some of the bigger men fit it.

 

Note the wood planking showing behind the bunks... just like the days of sail!

 

The wardroom was about the size of a closet. The crew was very kind in sharing the TV viewing with us.

 

I don't know if it was an act that some of them put on for us, or if this was just the way they were when they went to sea... but we heard more than our share of "salty" language that weekend...terms and expressions I had never heard, and some of them I have never heard since. It was a bit intimidating at first, but we tried to stay out of the way and they tolerated us. It didn't occur to me that many of them probably had kids of their own.

[gwb123]

A visit to the engine room... loud, noisy and greasy. And we were sure not to touch anything!

[gwb123]

All good things must come to an end...

 

I believe we left Sunday morning... all of us quite happy to be back on land after the ups and downs of the open ocean in cold weather.

 

We made our visit in 1970, and as Wikipedia notes the ship was removed from service less than 2 years later.

 

I sincerely hope that the Boy Scouts of Broomall, PA Troop 238 of the Valley Forge Council didn't break anything that caused that.

 

Given the current concerns for liability, I wonder if they even do things like this any more.

 

Hope you enjoyed the photos.

[aerialbridge]

gwb, wonderful snapshots of your field trip on the high seas 44 years ago. Given not just liability but today's hyper-security, I doubt there's any similar scouting trips going on like yours. Thanks for posting.

[Lee Ragan]

Great thread. It brings back memories I have of spending two weeks for active duty training on Parots sister, the USS Peacock MSC-198 in Long Beach, California in June 1972. Yes, it is a different world on board one of these wooden ships. My former service was Air Force and I was like you scouts in that I was getting exposed to all this that was totally new to me at the time. By 1972, I understand that the 20mm bow gun had been removed from minesweepers but we had facilities for mounting .50 cal. machine gun for shooting floating mines.

Thanks for showing all these neat pictures.

[sgtpete]

Thanks for sharing you adventure. I remember as a boy scout we spent the weekend on the battleship Massachusetts. I though that was cool, but your trip takes the cake!

[Dave]

That is really awesome! I can remember visiting the USS Leahy, USS Princeton, and USS Belleau Wood at different times as a Boy Scout. Fast forward many years later, I always made it a point to at least say hi and smile to the Boy Scouts who toured the ships I was stationed on, if not have a chance to take part and guide the tours myself.