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MHC 54 Robin
"Lead the Fleet"

Coastal Mine Hunter USS Robin (MHC 54) was commissioned in a ceremony held on May 11,1996, at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas.

USS Robin (MHC 54) is the fourth ship in the U.S. Navy's MHC 51 (Osprey) Class Coastal Minehunter program and the third U.S. Navy Ship to bear that name. Robin's keel was laid on 01 June, 1992 and she was commissioned 11 May, 1996 during a ceremony held at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas.

MHC class ships are the world's largest glass reinforced plastic (GRP) ships and the first U.S. Navy ships designed solely for minehunting, the technique of locating mines with sonar and neutralizing them with a remotely controlled underwater vehicle. The ship's mission is to clear harbor, coastal and ocean waters of acoustic, magnetic, pressure and contact type mines using reconnaissance, classification and neutralization tactics. The MHC class design integrates modern mine countermeasures technology into a uniquely designed platform with exceptionally low magnetic and acoustic signatures to protect against mine detonations during minehunting operations.

Previous Namesakes

USS Robin (MHC 54) commemorates the prior service of minecraft of the same name.

The first Robin (AM 3) (1918-1945) helped clear the North Sea Mine Barrage (1919). Reclassified as a target towing and passenger vessel (AT-140) in 1942, she was used for torpedo retrieving and transportation duties. During World War II, she became ATO-140 and was used for towing and salvage.

The second was a coastal minesweeper (ex-YMS 311) (1943-1961) that earned five battle stars for service during World War II as the unnamed YMS 311, and downed three kamikaze suicide planes off Okinawa. Robin participated in the sweeping operations for the invasion force in Leyte Gulf, she shot down three enemy aircraft, and swept mines in the environs of all of the Japanese main islands. Later, the ship was named Robin in 1947 and served until 1961 when she was decommissioned.