Namesake:
Legacy name
The first USS AVENGER was a wooden ram originally build for the War
Department (Army). She was transferred to the Navy and placed to the
Navy and placed in commission on the 7th of December 1863, under the
command of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Charles A Wright. AVENGER was
assigned to the Mississippi River Squadron, Third District, under the
command of Admiral David Dixon Porter and was responsible for
patrolling the river between Natchez and the mouth of the Red River. In
early March 1864, AVENGER and her sister ship the VINDICATOR
participated in the RED River Campaign to support the establishments;
the shelling of Ft. DeRussy in May 1864, and the battle of Bruinsburg,
MS in November 1864. Following the conclusion of the war, AVENGER was
decommissioned on the 1st of the August 1865, and was sold at public
auction. She remained in service as a merchantman out of New Orleans
until 1871.
The second USS AVENGER (SP-2646) was a wooden-hulled
screw yacht built in 1917 in Camden, New Jersey. She was loaned to the
Navy in May 1918 under a "free lease" from her owner Mr. Philips J.
Wunderle, who was appointed a Chief Boatswain's Mate to serve as her
first and only Commanding Officer. Outfitted with a deck gun,
communications equipment and depth charges, she conducted four war
patrols in the waters adjacent to her homeport of Cape May, NJ. She was
decommissioned on the 19th of December 1918, and was re-converted to
civilian use, and remained in service until 1929.
The current AVENGER is the first of the United States
Navy's newest class of Mine Countermeasures ships. Built by Peterson
Builders Incorporated, in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin, she was christened by
Mrs. Sybill Stockdale on 15 June 1985 and placed in active service on
12 September 1987.
Subsequent to her commissioning and a period of test and
trials, AVENGER arrived in her homeport of Charleston, South Carolina,
and began operating as a member of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Following
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, AVENGER deployed to the Arabian Gulf as a
coalition force member in support of Operation DESERT SHIELD and DESERT
STORM on the 16th of August 1990. AVENGER was the longest serving ship
from all of the coalition forces during the SHIELD/STORM conflict and
well as the first ship in the history of naval warfare to locate and
neutralize bottom mines. The shapes that are painted on the port and
starboard bridge wings represent actual mines neutralized during the
Gulf War. AVENGER was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and Combat
Action Ribbon for her wartime accomplishments.
In 1993, AVENGER shifted homeports to the newly
constructed Naval Station Ingleside, Texas. Since that time she
deployed to the Eastern Atlantic in 1993 and 1995, Mediterranean Sea in
1997 and 1999. In 2001 AVENGER deployed to the Eastern Pacific via the
Panama Canal and conducted Joint, Combined, and Bilateral exercises and
operations on the West Coast. Late in 2001, AVENGER conducted test
operations of a revolutionary jam resistant electronic navigation
system. In 2004, USS AVENGER deployed to participate in Rim of the
Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, where she was one of the first two MCMs to
participate in this national exercise. AVENGER completed her most
significant modernization in the summer of 2008 just prior to her
Western Pacific (WESTPAC) Deployment. USS AVENGER is currently on
deployment.
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Ship's Crest:
 Border:A
continuous lanyard of seventy-six turns showing the unity and
commitment of this crew to make the first of the class the best of the
class, and seventy-six original "plank owners" to accomplish this task.
The Shield: Placed in the
center of
the crest,
the shield is blue and gold, traditional United States Navy colors,
symbolic of the sea and excellence. It is divided into three quadrants
by an inverted "Y" representing a safe channel of passage. The upper
left quadrant consists of two stars over an anchor honoring the
previous U.S. Navy ships to bear the name "Avenger". The upper right
contains the number one, the ship's hull number, surrounded by thirteen
stars, one for each of the follow-on ships of the class. The lower
sector has the Palmetto palm, the state tree of South Carolina,
significant as the home of mine warfare when AVENGER was commissioned
and originally homeported in September 1987.
The
Crest: The surface warfare
logo
superimposed over a Mark VI mine is indicative of the readiness of the
qualified officers and enlisted men to face the challenge of the mine
threat. The centurions with tridents represent strength and courage,
traits required to face the danger of mine warfare utilizing our
advanced system, consisting of the AN/SQQ-32 Mine Hunting Sonar, the
AN/SSN-2 Precise Integrated Navigation System, and the AN/SLQ-48 Mine
Neutralization System.
Motto:
"Dux et defensor semitae"
translates to
"Guide and protector of the pathway", referring to AVENGER's ability to
provide a clear and safe channel of passage for other vessels.
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