High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Flamingo (AM-32) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy near the end of World War I. After service overseas clearing mines after the Armistice, the ship was laid up until 1922 when it was transferred to the Commerce Department for use by the United States Coast Geodetic Survey. Renamed USC GS Guide, the ship performed research duties on the West Coast of the United States for nearly 20 years. In June 1941, Guide was transferred back to the Navy and was named repair ship USS Viking (ARS-1). She worked primarily from bases in California until 1953, when she was sold for scrapping.