USS Natchez (PF-2): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 23:57, 24 July 2007
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Built as: | HMS Annan (K-297) |
| Laid down: | 16 March 1942 |
| Acquired by the U.S. Navy: | 20 July 1942 |
| Launched: | 12 September 1942 |
| Commissioned: | USS Natchez (PG-102), 16 December 1942 |
| Battle Stars: | Not indicated |
| Reclassified: | PF-2, 15 April 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 11 October 1945 |
| Struck: | Not indicated |
| Fate: | Sold, 29 July 1947 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Class: | Asheville-class patrol frigate |
| Displacement: | 2,360 tons |
| Length: | 301' 6" |
| Beam: | 36' 6" |
| Draft: | 13 8" |
| Speed: | 20.3 kts |
| Complement: | 194 |
| Armament: | three 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts, two twin 40mm gun mounts, nine 20mm gun mounts, two depth charge racks, eight depth charge projectors, and one hedgehog depth charge projector |
| Propulsion: | two 225psi 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500shp Canadian Vickers verticle triple expansion steam engines, two shaft. |
USS Natchez (PG-102) was a Asheville-class patrol frigate acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was designed for patrol and convoy duty, and served her country in the Atlantic Ocean.
Natchez was laid down 16 March 1942 by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, Canada as HMS Annan (K-297), later designated as HMCS Annan (K-297); acquired by the U.S. Navy 20 July 1942 and named and classified as Natchez (PG-102) on 8 October 1942; launched 12 September 1942, and commissioned at Ottawa, Canada 16 December 1942.
World War II North Atlantic operations
Natchez sailed under escort to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving at the Boston Navy Yard 16 January 1943 for fitting out. On 1 March she reported for duty to Commander Eastern Sea Frontier and was assigned escort duty for merchant convoys between Cuba and New York. Natchez was reclassified as PF-2 on 15 April 1943.
Rescuing survivors in the water
On 4 December, Cuban freighter SS Libertad was reported missing from her convoy off the southern Atlantic coast. Natchez with several other patrol vessels, was dispatched to the scene, guided by homing signals from Navy blimps. Natchez found only three survivors who related that their ship had been torpedoed and sank before they could notify the convoy commander.
Sinking of German U-boat U-548
Through 1944, Natchez escorted convoys and performed ASW patrol duties. While on convoy duty 29 April 1943, she simultaneously received a sonar contact and sighted the snorkel of a German U-boat, 98 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia. Launching an immediate attack, she was quickly joined by three destroyer escorts: USS Coffman (DE-191); USS Bostwick (DE-103) ; and USS Thomas (DE-102). [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehogs and depth charges erupted large areas of the ocean bottom as the four vessels sought to trap the enemy submarine. Finally contact was lost and a large quantity of oil was seen to rise to the surface, indicating destruction of the U-boat. German sources, at the end of the war, substantiated that U-548 bad gone down as a result of this attack.
End-of-war activity
At the end of the war, Natchez was still patrolling in the Atlantic. She returned to Charleston, South Carolina, 29 June 1943 for inactivation and disposal.
Decommissioning
She was delivered to the Maritime Commission, 19 November 1945 for disposal; Sold, 29 July 1947 to Louis Moore of Miami, Florida; Resold, 19 March 1948 to the Dominican Republic as Juan Pablo Duarte (F-102); Ran aground at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in November 1949 and taken out of service due to damage; She was then sold to Felix Benitez, a Puerto Rican engineer, who repaired her and converted her to his personal yacht, the Moineau. Her ultimate fate is unknown.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.