The Lapwing-class minesweeper, often called the Bird class, was an early "AM-type" oceangoing minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. Forty-eight ships of the class were commissioned during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and served well into the 1950s. A number were refitted to serve as salvage vessels, seaplane tenders and submarine rescue vessels.

External links

• USN Ships
• Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940–1945