Ariadne laid mines off Norway and chased blockade runners during Operation Stonewall before joining the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Pacific. In June 1944 she laid 146 mines off northern New Guinea as landings took place in the Mapia group. Her active-career total is given as at least 1,352 mines, and she also carried U.S. Army soldiers. After the war she repatriated British prisoners from Japan and served as a fast mail ship. She entered reserve, returned briefly for a weapons trial after a 1950s refit, and was sold for scrapping in 1965. Keeping her through the early Cold War reflects the continuing utility of a fast ship able to combine minelaying and transport.
Notable Point · 34:18-36:36
Ariadne from Norway to the Pacific
Ariadne combined mine warfare, blockade-runner interception, Pacific support, and postwar transport duties, illustrating the class's long utility.