USS Triumph ( AM - 323 ) USS " Triumph " ( AM - 323 ) was an acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing . The ship was laid down as HMS " Espoir " ( BAM - 23 ) for the Royal Navy on 27 October 1942 at Seattle , Washington , by the Associated Shipbuilding Corp . ; taken over by the United States Navy in late 1942 or early 1943 ; named " USS Triumph " and designated AM - 323 on 23 January 1943 ; launched on 25 February 1943 ; and commissioned on 3 February 1944 , Lt . Comdr . Carl R . Cunningham , Jr . , USNR , in command . World War II Pacific operations . Following outfitting at Seattle , Washington , and shakedown training along the California coast , " Triumph " stood out of San Francisco , California , on 1 May as a unit in the escort of an Oahu - bound convoy . She arrived in Pearl Harbor on the 10th and , after a five - day layover , joined the screen of a convoy bound for the Marshall Islands . She entered the lagoon at Majuro on 25 May ; two days later , headed back to Hawaii with 24 passengers embarked ; and reached Pearl Harbor on 2 June . She got underway again late in the month to escort another convoy to the Marshalls . She reentered Pearl Harbor on 16 July and prepared for her first deployment in the combat zone . On 12 August , " Triumph " stood out of Pearl Harbor with a convoy bound initially for the Solomon Islands . The minesweeper arrived at Florida Island near Guadalcanal on 24 August and conducted minesweeping rehearsals in the Russell Islands to prepare for the invasion of the Palaus . On 8 September , she departed Guadalcanal with Task Group ( TG ) 32 . 4 , the transport screen for the Palau Islands invasion force . " Triumph " reached Kossol Passage at dawn on 15 September and began sweeping mines from the prospective anchorage there . USS " Wadleigh " strikes a mine . The first day passed without mishap , and the minesweepers retired from Kossol Passage for the night . However , at about 1430 the next day , struck a mine while supporting the sweeping of Kossol Passage as destruction vessel . At 1540 , " Triumph " sent a fire and rescue party to assist the destroyer — by then completely without power — and took over her duties as destruction vessel . Over the next half hour , the minesweeper destroyed five floating mines by gunfire . Following that , she stood by " Wadleigh " until dark , providing what assistance she could . She then took up screening station for the night . Minesweeping operations continued on a daily basis until midday on the 18th when " Triumph " began devoting herself entirely to screening and harbor control duties . The little warship remained in the Palaus until mid - October — though at Peleliu after 30 September — and then got underway to screen a convoy to the Solomons . After stops in the Russell Islands and at Tulagi , " Triumph " returned to the Palaus on 21 October . She remained there until late November , performing antisubmarine screening duty at Peleliu in the south and at Kossol Passage in the north , as well as escorting ships between the two . On 11 November , " Triumph " left the Palaus in company with a New Guinea - bound convoy . She reached $ 3 on the 15th and sailed for Ulithi on the 20th . Ordered back to Humboldt Bay on the 22nd , the minesweeper returned two days later . After taking on fuel and provisions , she stood out of Humboldt Bay for San Pedro Bay , Leyte , on the 26th in company with , , and Coast Guard cutter . " Triumph " reached recently invaded Leyte on the morning of 30 November and began preparations for the flanking landings at Ormoc Bay on the western shore of the island . Attacked by Japanese fighter planes . After five days patrolling the San Pedro Bay anchorage against enemy submarine incursions , the ship got underway as a unit of task unit TU 78 . 3 . 6 . En route , " Triumph " and her traveling companions suffered a kamikaze attack when three " Zekes " dove on the unit . The first tried to crash but missed and splashed down between that ship and " Triumph " . The second fighter tried a bombing run but was brought down by the combined anti - aircraft fire of the task unit . The pilot of the third plane prudently declined to attack . Later that day , a group of medium bombers overflew the unit but made no attack . Just before noon , the minesweeper and her mates reached Ormoc Bay and streamed their sweep gear to complete their mission . Unmolested , the group of minesweepers completed their sweeping by 2125 that night and took up station in the screen of the Ormoc Bay attack force . The following morning , the Army 77th Division landed unopposed just south of Ormoc town and in the enemy ' s rear area . The only Japanese attempt to oppose the operation consisted of aerial attacks — both conventional and kamikaze . Though the attacks cost the American naval forces two warships sunk , and , two more severely damaged , and , and an LSM abandoned ; they failed to impede the landings and the progress of the troops ashore . " Triumph " departed Ormoc Bay late on the morning of the 7th and headed back to San Pedro Bay . Though her task unit occasionally engaged enemy aircraft during the intermittent air attacks , she concentrated on her role as a part of the antisubmarine screen while the destroyers of the outer screen bore the brunt of the attack . The raids ceased at dark ; and , early the next morning , task unit TU 78 . 3 . 6 reentered San Pedro Bay . Supporting landings at Mindoro . " Triumph " remained at San Pedro Bay until the afternoon of 12 December when she got underway to participate in the occupation of Mindoro . On the second day out , the task organization came under aerial attack . Just after midday , a kamikaze crashed the flagship , and the light cruiser was forced to drop out of formation and return to San Pedro Bay with . Additional raids occurred that afternoon , but they caused no damage . By the morning of 14 December , the unit was passing Negros Island ; and " Triumph " , along with the rest of the minesweepers , received orders to sweep the waters ahead of the force . During that sweep , the unit was attacked by a formation of three " Oscars " . The enemy planes dropped three bombs off " Triumph ' s " port quarter but caused no damage . An American combat air patrol drove the raiders off , and the minesweepers completed their mission by late afternoon . Just after midnight on 15 December , " Triumph " and her mates reached the beaches on the southwestern coast of Mindoro . At 0225 , they began sweeping the invasion approaches . They completed their task less than three hours later and moved out while the invasion force moved in . Later , she joined in sweeps of Pandarochan Bay ; then returned to Mindoro Strait to form up for the return to Leyte . At 1830 , she departed Mindoro and , after a brief but intense aerial attack at dusk , voyaged peacefully back to the anchorage at San Pedro Bay , anchoring there a little after 0800 on the 18th . For the remainder of the month , she remained at San Pedro Bay and conducted antisubmarine patrols in Leyte Gulf . Supporting the Luzon invasion . On 2 January 1945 , the minesweeper once again departed San Pedro Bay — this time to participate in the initial invasion of Luzon . The four - day voyage to the beaches at Lingayen Gulf was punctuated by a number of Japanese air assaults . An inconclusive air - to - surface battle on the night of 2 January was followed by the first attack in earnest on the 3d . Shortly after dawn , a formation of " Zekes " pounced on the convoy . One near - miss of the oiler caused a fire amidships . All ships joined in a withering fire that discouraged suicide runs ; and , consequently , no ship suffered a direct hit . The next morning , enemy planes approached the formation , but combat air patrol downed some and chased others away . On the 5th , general quarters sounded five times before noon , but " Triumph " observed no planes . Later , three warships peeled off to chase two Japanese destroyers sighted off the convoy ' s quarter . The enemy ships , however , managed to escape . At 1700 , a formation of " Vals " hit the task force . Six of them attempted suicide crashes , but only one came close to its target — an LCI — which lost its mast in the encounter . Early the next morning , the force reached its destination off the beaches at Lingayen Gulf . Between 6 and 9 January , " Triumph " conducted pre - invasion sweeps of the assault areas in Lingayen Gulf . Though the main task force was subjected to incessant enemy air attacks , the minesweeper continued her mine - sweeping almost unmolested . Each night , she retired from Lingayen Gulf and took up screening station for the transports and cargo ships . On the 9th , the ground troops stormed ashore at Lingayen , and " Triumph " kept a close watch for enemy submarines and suicide boats . She remained in Lingayen Gulf until the 14th — riding at anchor during the last three days of that period — and then got underway with a Leyte - bound convoy of LST ' s and LCI ' s . After transiting the Sulu Sea , the Mindanao Sea , Surigao Strait , and Leyte Gulf , the Allied ships arrived in San Pedro Bay on the 19th . She remained there until 25 January when she headed out to resume action off Luzon . She reached Subic Bay and swept its coastal waters . On 4 February , she departed and headed back to Leyte , stopped at San Pedro Bay from 8 to 13 February , then put to sea once again on her way to the Marianas . Duty with the Fifth Fleet . " Triumph " entered Apra Harbor , Guam , and reported for duty with the U . S . 5th Fleet . Two days later , she set a course for Ulithi , the staging area for Operation Iceberg , the invasion and occupation of the Ryūkyūs . She arrived at Ulithi the following day and began a period of rest , repairs , and rehearsals . Early in the afternoon of 19 March , " Triumph " sailed put of the lagoon at Ulithi with the Ryukyu Islands invasion force . When she arrived at her destination early on the morning of the 24th , " Triumph " and her division mates joined the and a patrol craft in minesweeping operations . On the 26th , the destroyer struck a mine , and it caused explosions in her forward magazine which ripped off most of her forward section . Two ships of " Triumph ' s " unit proceeded to assist the stricken warship but managed to rescue only 172 members of " Halligan ' s " 325 - man complement . The following day , the division swept 15 mines of which total " Triumph " claimed three . On the 28th , her formation endured its first air raid of the campaign when three enemy planes dived in to attack . The formation responded with a lively fusillade which splashed all three . The minesweeper continued sweeping operations through the end of the month . She and her colleagues concluded their mission on the eve of the landings , 31 March , and began duty with the task force ' s antisubmarine screen . At 0600 the following morning — April Fool ' s Day and Easter Sunday rolled into one — landing craft started their move shoreward ; and , soon thereafter , the first wave of U . S . Marines and soldiers hit the beaches on Okinawa . Screening for kamikazes . During the ensuing four months , " Triumph " alternated screening duties with minesweeping operations . On several occasions during that time , she became directly involved in the incessant air attacks launched by the Japanese against the invasion force . On 16 April , when received a kamikaze hit , " Triumph " was soon at hand to rescue three men blown overboard in the action . The minesweeper herself almost required such assistance on the 18th when a " Kate " torpedo bomber apparently tried to crash into her . Near sunset , he came in from astern up the port side , passed under her port yardarm , and splashed down not far from " Triumph " . The air raids continued , but their primary targets remained the radar picket destroyers . Consequently , " Triumph " experienced few actual surface - to - air engagements . On 11 May , while she patrolled off Ie Shima , she brought two enemy planes under fire but could not definitely claim credit for the one splashed by antiaircraft fire . Combat air patrol accounted for the other one . Between mid - May and mid - June , she executed her patrols and sweeps under relatively calm circumstances . Under attack by a torpedo plane . On 15 June , however , she experienced another potentially fatal adventure . At dusk , " Triumph " was patrolling north of Kerama Retto when an enemy torpedo bomber executed a near - perfect run on her . Initially , the plane was thought to be friendly , though the radarman continued to track the unidentified aircraft just in case . The pilot lined his plane up with the moon , made a well - executed approach , and launched his torpedo . Two sharp - eyed sailors on board " Triumph " spied the torpedo splash , raised the alarm , and the warship immediately went hard to starboard to evade the torpedo . It passed in her wake , a scant 30 yards astern . Darkness precluded any real antiaircraft response , so " Triumph " resumed her patrols . Three days after that attack , the minesweeper put into Kerama Retto for supplies and upkeep . " Triumph " remained in Kerama Retto through the end of June . On the 30th , she got underway to rehearse for sweeps into the East China Sea . Those preparations continued until Independence Day when she sortied with Task Unit TU 39 . 11 . 6 . She arrived in the assigned area with the rest of her unit on the 5th and conducted a highly productive , eight - day sweep unimpaired by Japanese air activity . She returned to Buckner Bay , located on the western coast of Okinawa , on Bastille Day . There she replenished and refueled over a three - day period before returning to the East China Sea to resume mine - sweeping operations . However , just before beginning that mission , she was detached from the East China Sea minesweeping force and was ordered to report to task force TF 39 for further orders . On 17 July , she was forced to leave the anchorage at Buckner Bay to evade a typhoon . After serving in the antisubmarine screen of the ships forced out of the anchorage , the warship returned to Buckner Bay on 21 July and remained there , awaiting orders , until 5 August . On that day , she stood out of the bay as a unit in the screen of a convoy of tank landing ships . Japan capitulates . Two days later , she took " PGM - 11 " in tow after the latter ship suffered an engine casualty . On the llth , " Triumph " parted company with the convoy to tow " PGM - 11 " into Apra Harbor , Guam . With and " YMS - 341 " in escort , the minesweeper entered Apra Harbor on the morning of 12 August . Three days later , she received word of the Japanese capitulation . " Triumph " remained at Guam for a month undergoing repairs . She departed on 12 September to participate in the occupation of Japan and former Japanese possessions . She served her entire tour of occupation duty at Okinawa , arriving there on 18 September and departing again on 19 October . Stateside overhaul and decommissioning . After stops at Guam and Hawaii , she returned to the United States at San Francisco , California , on 15 December . She underwent an extensive overhaul at the Kaiser shipyard at Richmond , California , from 19 January to 12 June 1946 and then began operations along the west coast . That duty continued until " Triumph " was placed out of commission at San Diego , California on 30 January 1947 . Peacetime operations . " Triumph " remained in reserve at San Diego until early 1952 . After extensive preparations during the late fall of 1951 and the winter of 1952 , she was recommissioned at San Diego on 28 February 1952 . The warship reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet early in April and ultimately to the Atlantic Fleet on 19 May . Operating out of Charleston , South Carolina , the minesweeper served along the southern portion of the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean until mid - September when she deployed to the Mediterranean for service with the U . S . 6th Fleet . Following another tour of duty in the western $ 3 early in 1954 and a second deployment to the Mediterranean during the winter of 1954 and 1955 , " Triumph " began preparations for deactivation in the spring of 1955 . On 7 February 1955 she was redesignated MSF - 323 . On 29 August 1955 , " Triumph " was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs , Florida . Final disposition . There , she remained until late in 1959 . During that period , she changed designations again on 4 December 1959 when she was redesignated Coastal Minelayer MMC - 3 . Late in 1959 , the decision was made to transfer her to Norway under the Foreign Military Assistance Program . On 27 January 1961 , she was transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 March 1961 . She served the Norwegians as " Brage " until 1978 . Awards . " Triumph " was awarded six battle star s for World War II service .