[2] After reporting to Mine Division 45 at Charleston, South Carolina, 15 April 1955, the new coastal minesweeper proceeded to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, for shakedown.

[2] Changing her home port to Little Creek, Virginia, 1 January 1959, Limpkin operated with the amphibious forces of the Atlantic Fleet and tested experimental minesweeping gear in the Chesapeake Bay.

[2] Returning to Little Creek 26 October, the ship soon deployed to the Caribbean, visiting Cristobal, Panama, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the three-month cruise and participating in LANTPHIBEX 1-61.

In 1963, plus operating in the Chesapeake Bay, the ship gained more invaluable training with the Canadians, as "Sweepclear" shifted to Mayport, Florida, thus providing familiarity with the breadth and unity of American-Canadian defense for the eastern coast of North America.

[2] Limpkin continued this pattern of service, perfecting the dangerous art of mine warfare in operations along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean until late 1968.