View source for USS Raven (MHC-61)

{{Short description|US Navy coastal minesweeper}}
{{other ships|USS Raven|USS Raven III}}
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|Ship image=[[Image:USS Raven MHC 61 Persian Gulf.jpg|300px|USS Raven, April 2004]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Raven'', April 2004
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag}}
|Ship name=USS ''Raven''
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|Ship operator={{navy|United States}}, {{navy|Egypt}}
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|Ship ordered=31 March 1993
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|Ship builder=Intermarine USA
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|Ship laid down=1 April 1995
|Ship launched=28 September 1996
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Dorothy McDowell Smith
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|Ship commissioned=5 September 1998
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|Ship decommissioned=1 January 2007
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|Ship struck=1 January 2007
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|Ship fate=transferred to [[Egyptian Navy]]
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class=[[Osprey class coastal minehunter]]
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|Ship displacement=*817 tons light,
*904 tons full,
*87 tons dead
|Ship length=*57.3 m (188 ft) overall,
*53 m (174 ft) waterline
|Ship beam=*11.5 m (38 ft) extreme,
*10.9 m (36 ft) waterline
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|Ship draught=*3.3 m (11 ft) maximum,
*3.3 m (11 ft) limit
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|Ship complement=5 officers, 46 men
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'''USS ''Raven'' (MHC-61)''', an [[Osprey class coastal minehunter|''Osprey''-class coastal minehunter]], was the third ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[raven]]. The contract to build her was awarded to [[Intermarine USA]] in [[Savannah, Georgia]] on 31 March 1993 and her keel was laid down on 1 April 1995. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 28 September 1996, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 5 September 1998.
She was decommissioned in January 2007 (on a schedule which has all ''Osprey''-class ships fully decommissioned by the end of 2008) and given to the Egyptian Navy pursuant to the Naval Vessels Transfer Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-134).
She was the 11th ship of the 12 ''Osprey''-class coastal mine hunters, which are named for birds of prey. ''Osprey'' class are the world's largest [[minesweeper (ship)|mine hunters]] to be constructed entirely of [[fiberglass]] and designed to survive the shock of [[underwater explosion]]s. ''Raven'''s primary mission was reconnaissance, classification, and neutralization of all types of moored and bottom [[Naval mine|mines]] in littoral areas, harbors and coastal waterways. She is equipped with a high definition, variable-depth [[sonar]], and a remotely operated, robotic [[submarine]] (referred to as a Mine Neutralization Vehicle) used to neutralize mines.  As of September 2000, ''Raven'' had been forward deployed to [[Manama]], [[Bahrain]]. The ship was previously homeported in [[Naval Station Ingleside|Ingleside, TX]].
==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Raven (MHC-61)}}
*[http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/mine_warfare/pages/uss_raven_mhc61.htm MaritimeQuest USS Raven MHC-61 Photo Gallery]
== References ==
{{Naval Vessel Register}}
<gallery>
Image:Mine neutralization vehicle MNV.jpg|Mine neutralization vehicle (MNV)
Image:USS Raven MHC-61.jpg|USS ''Raven'', August 2005 in the Persian Gulf
Image:Cardinal and Raven on Blue Marlin.jpg|USS ''Raven'' and ''Cardinal'' loaded on the deck of the MV ''Blue Marlin'' for transport
</gallery>
{{Osprey class coastal minehunter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raven (MHC-61)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Savannah, Georgia]]
[[Category:1996 ships]]
[[Category:Osprey-class coastal minehunters]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Egyptian Navy]]