USS Density ( AM - 218 ) USS " Density " ( AM - 218 ) was an " Admirable " - class minesweeper built for the U . S . Navy during World War II . She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters , and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean . She was launched 6 February 1944 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co . , Inc . , Tampa , Florida ; sponsored by Miss M . Farmwald ; and commissioned 15 June 1944 , Lieutenant Commander R . R . Forrester , Jr . , USNR , in command . She was reclassified MSF - 218 on 7 February 1955 . The vessel was later renamed " MV Galaxy " and was home to the British offshore pirate radio station Radio London . World War II Pacific Ocean operations . " Density " arrived at San Diego , California , 23 September 1944 to serve as a training ship for the Small Craft Training Center at Terminal Island , until 2 February 1945 , when she sailed for Pearl Harbor and Ulithi . " Density " sortied from Ulithi 19 March 1945 to sweep mines preparatory to the invasion of Okinawa on 1 April . Patrolling off Okinawa for its capture and occupation , " Density " fired on the enemy in several suicide attacks . On 6 April she splashed several of the kamikaze force which struck the Fleet , then assisted , picking up 16 of her survivors and towing her to Kerama Retto . On the 22nd she splashed an enemy attacker which cleared her bridge by only , then rescued three survivors from stricken before resuming her patrol . Five days later she recovered the body of an enemy officer from a plane she had downed and thus obtained valuable intelligence material including a secret code book and photographs . While sweeping mines she sank an enemy suicide boat off Naha on 4 May . " Density " sailed from Okinawa 4 July to join a group of minesweepers supporting the 3rd Fleet strikes against the Japanese homeland . From 9 August to 28 August she was in San Pedro Bay , Leyte , for brief overhaul , and on 8 September put out from Okinawa to sweep mines in Japanese waters . She remained in the Far East on occupation duty until 20 November when she sailed for the U . S . West Coast , arriving at San Diego , California , 19 December . Awards . " Density " received three battle stars for World War II service . Post - War decommissioning . On 29 January 1946 she arrived at Galveston , Texas , to provide services to the reserve fleet at Orange , Texas , and was placed in commission in reserve 14 May 1946 . " Density " was decommissioned there 3 March 1947 . In February 1955 " Density " was sold by the U . S . Navy to be used as a Greek cargo ship and renamed MV Manoula . By 1964 she was impounded in Miami , Florida , for non - payment of harbor dues . She was bought in September 1964 and renamed MV " Galaxy " . She had a 50 kilowatt RCA ampliphase transmitter installed and an approximately antenna mast erected behind the funnel ( though a height of was claimed for publicity purposes ) . She set sail from Miami on 22 October 1964 for England via Puerto Rico and Madeira . The ship arrived in the Thames Estuary on 19 November 1964 . Radio Caroline ' s owner Ronan O ' Rahilly warned Radio London that this anchorage might fall within British territorial waters . They responded by moving the ship to a position four and a half miles from Walton on the Naze , Essex , close to Radio Caroline South ' s ship MV Mi Amigo . Radio London later regularly advertised this position on air as 51° 47 . 09 " N , 01° 20 . 55 " E . She started broadcasting as Radio London , an offshore commercial station , on 23 December 1964 , gaining an estimated 8 . 8 million listeners aged over 18 in the United Kingdom by 1966 . She continued to broadcast until 14 August 1967 when the British Government enacted legislation prohibiting British nationals from working for the station or supplying it . Radio Caroline , operating from two ships at separate locations , was the only offshore station to defy the ban . On 19 August she sailed to Hamburg . After Radio Caroline ' s ships were seized over unpaid debts the " Galaxy " was considered as a replacement , but was too expensive . An attempt by Erwin Meister and Edwin Bollier to buy the ship as a going concern also fell through , and they set about equipping another two ships , the later of which broadcast as Radio North Sea International . The " Galaxy " remained in Hamburg until 1970 when she was sold for scrap . She remained in Hamburg until 1975 when she was moved to the shipyard and harbour of Howaldswerke - Deutsche Werft at Kiel . In 1979 she sank and stayed on the bottom until August 1986 when a conservation lobby persuaded the authorities to raise her due to concerns about pollution . She was raised and moved to dry land where she was scrapped .