The Soviet minesweeper T-112 was originally built as the USS Agent (AM-139), an Admirable-class minesweeper constructed by Tampa Shipbuilding Co. in Tampa, Florida. Laid down on April 8, 1942, and launched on November 1, 1942, the vessel was completed by July 10, 1943. Despite its completion during World War II, the USS Agent did not see active service in the U.S. Navy. Instead, it was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program on the same day it was finished, July 10, 1943, and was designated T-112. During its Soviet service, the vessel underwent several renamings: it was designated TB-21 on October 15, 1955; VTR-2Y on March 8, 1956; and UTS-288 on April 20, 1972. The ship served through the Cold War era, remaining in Soviet naval service until it was abandoned on January 31, 1991. As of June 10, 2007, her hulk was still extant, indicating that the vessel was not scrapped but left as a wreck or abandoned hull. Because of Cold War secrecy, the U.S. Navy was unaware of her fate and did not realize that she had been transferred and was no longer under American control. She was reclassified as MSF-139 on February 7, 1955, and remained on the U.S. Naval Vessel Register until she was officially struck on January 1, 1983. The vessel's history highlights the extensive transfer of naval assets during World War II and the Cold War, and her prolonged presence in Soviet service underscores the strategic and geopolitical complexities of that era.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.