WW2 US Navy Gunboats

The subject of WW2 gunboats is rarely seen as a whole, because it was basically a mess. The list of ships and classes operated were more the result of inheritance of very disparate vessels for different missions, acquisition and reclassifications until 1945. That unglamorous category was considered obsolete in comparison to spanking new destroyers and frigates, and never deserved the same attention, albeit some still daw usefulness in them for specific tasks. This post attempts to clarify the topic and not only cover interwar, but also WW2 vessels, some being “reserve lend lease” (from the British) as there were very few new constructions.

PGM-6, part of several ex-sub-chasers converted as gunboats for the Guadalcanal Campaign

Introduction

The Gunboat Fleet in 1917

In 1917 when the USA entered the war, there was already a disparate park of gunboats in the United States Navy. Some were purpose-built and surprisingly powerful, more than old unprotected cruisers (like the Yorktown class) while others were inherited (captured or ceded) from the Spanish Armada after ther 1898 war. These were the USS Topeka (1881), Isla de Luzon class (1886), USS Dolphin (1886), USS Don Juan De Austria (1887) Yoktown class (1889), Petrel class (1888), Machias class (1891), USS Nashville (1895), Wilmington class (1895), Annapolis clas (1896), Wheeling class (1896), and Dubuque class gunboats (1904) plus an array of ex-Spanish coastal gunboats captured in the Philippines and well adapted for riverine work, USS Albay, Alvarado, Arayat, Calamianes, Callao, Ectano, Leyte, Manileno, Mariveles, Mindoro, Pampanga, Panay, Paragua, Quiros, Samar, Sandoval, and Villalobos. Many were kept in the interwar (see below).

See WW1 US Gunboats.

The US Gunboat Fleet in Interwar

USS Asheville in the 1920s, panama canal zone.

The Gunboat as a type was still in favor of many staff officers that believed their utility to spare better vessels for fleet work, as a basline armed vessel, either to ream rivers where US Citizens might be at risk (especially in troubled interwar China) or in the shallow waters and maze of islands between the Philippines and East Indies in general. Simple, shallow-draught vessels armed with light artilery mostly demonstrative against crowds, was seen as useful in this context. However large sea-going gunboats seems a thing of the past. Still, inherited gunboats were kept, and new constructions were planned, under the new classification “PG” for “Patrol Gunboat”. What complicated matter are the use of gunboats by the coast guard, with options to lend them to the Navy in case of war.

Main Interwar Gunboats

Below are the lauch dates and tonnage, then fate. Starred: Still active WW2.
PG9 USS HELENA (30.1.1896) 1,397t: Sold 1932
PG16 USS PALOS (23.4.1914) 190t: Sold 1937
PGl9 USS SACRAMENTO* (21.2.1914) 1,140t (sold as Merchant ship Fermina 1947).
PG20 USS MONOCACY (27.4.1914) 190t. Scuttled 1939
PG21 USS ASHEVILLE* (4.7.1918) 1,270t Lost 1942.
PG22 USS TULSA* (25.8.1922) 1,270t: USS Tacloban 1944, sold 1946
PG38 USS ELCANO (28.1.1884) 620t. Expended 1928
PG39 USS PAMPANGA (Feb. 1888) 243t. Expended 1928
PG40 USS QUIROS (24.1.1895) 350t. Expended 1923
PG42 USS VILLALOBOS (1896) 350t. Expended 1928

The US Navy also operated 50 “Bird” class minesweepers (AM1-54, AM11-12 and 49-50 were cancelled in 1918). Launched 1918-19, these tug type vessels displaced 950t, were armed with 2-3in, and had a top speed of 14kts. Nine were reclassified as seaplane tenders (AVP1-9) 1936, six as submarine rescue ships (ASR1-6) 1929, seven as salvage ships (ARS1-4, 11-12 1941, ARS32 1942), seventeen as fleet tugs (AT 131-145 1942, and 168-169 1944; AT132 became ARS32), and one as a net tender (YNg20 1940). Of the remainder, AM4 was lost in 1928, AM6 in 1923, AM8 in 1925 and AM37 in 1937.

The Coast Guard operated the following:

Four Gresham class cutters (launched 1897-98, 1190t, 4-6pdr, 14.5kts): Gresham (sold 1947), Manning (sold 1930), Algonquin (sold 1931) and Onondaga (sold 1924)
Four Tampa class cutters (launched 1921, 1980t, 2-Sin, 2-3in, 15kts): Tampa, Haida, Mojave and Modoc (all sold 1948)
And the following vessels: Seminole (8601, 4-6pdr, sold 1937), Tuscarora (launched 1902, 739t, 2-6pdr, sold 1937), Snohomish (launched 1908; 879t, 2-Ipdr, 12.5kts, sold 1934), Acushnet (as Snohomish, naval tug 1936); Seneca (launched 1508, 1445t, 13kts, 4-6pdrs, sold 1940), Yamacraw (launched 1908, 1082t, 13kts, 4-6pdr, sold 1935), Unalga (launched 1912, 1180t, 12.5ktS; 3-6pdr, sold 1947), Ossipee (launched 1915, 116t 12.7kts, 4-6pdr, sold 1946) and Tallapoosa (as Ossipee).

Interwar US Gunboats

Belore World War II, the United States operated two classes of gunboats, both intended for peacetime duties: river craft (PR) on the Yangtze in China, and sea-going units for the Special Service Squadron in the Caribbean. The latter were influenced by a clause in the London Treaty of 1930 which permitted ships of up to 2000 tons armed with guns of up to 6in calibre, ie the Enre and Charleston. For its part the Royal Navy used the same clause to build ASW’ AAW escorts, the sloops; that the United States did not is an indication of à lack of interest in coastal trade protection (ie convoy AAW) in the US Navy of the early 1930s. The four river gunboats built between the wars Were the only US combatants of their time to be built abroad, bv the Kiangnan Dock & Engineering Co of Shanghai.

In wartime, the gunboat category expanded to include ships more Droperly considered “escorts, the ‘Flower’ class corvettes obtained Under ‘reverse Lend-Lease.” The patrol frigates (PF) were also originally included in the gunboat category. Closer to true gunboats were small patrol craft (SC and PC) converted to motor gunboats (PGM) to harass Japanese coastal traffic in the South Pacific, and to support amphibious operations; they are described under their original designations. There were also landing craft converted to gunboats for amphibious fire support: LCI(G), (M) and (R); LCS(L)(3); and LSM(R). Once again, all are described under the LCI(L) and LSM.

As for the prewar gunboats, one on the Yangtze fled up-river from the Japanese and was turned over to the Chinese Government; one was captured at Shanghai; three fled to the Philippines; and Panay had already been sunk by Japanese bombers in 1937, in a famous incident which very nearly led to war at that time. Erie was torpedoed in 1942, but her sister Charleston survived the war on the Alaskan station. She carried out patrol and escort missions, but also was able to employ her 6in guns to support the Aleutian landings in 1943Belore World War II, the United States operated two classes of gunboats, both intended for peacetime duties: river craft (PR) on the Yangtze in China, and sea-going units for the Special Service Squadron in the Caribbean.

The latter were influenced by a clause in the London Treaty of 1930 which permitted ships of up to 2000 tons armed with guns of up to 6in calibre, ie the Enre and Charleston. For its part the Royal Navy used the same clause to build ASW’ AAW escorts, the sloops; that the United States did not is an indication of à lack of interest in coastal trade protection (ie convoy AAW) in the US Navy of the early 1930s. The four river gunboats built between the wars Were the only US combatants of their time to be built abroad, bv the Kiangnan Dock & Engineering Co of Shanghai.

Part of this topic already had been covered in the WWI section, so this one will focus on this 1,575/1,760 long tons vessel. Only capable of 12 kts she had four 4-in/50 main guns, two 3-pdr 47 mm (1.9 in) guns, two 1-pdr 37 mm and four 30 cal. Lewis MG plus two 3 inches landing guns for Marines and Crew parties originally. She was launched in 1918 and thus still an excellent conditions in the interwar, alongside her sister Tulsa. In she took part of the occupation of Nicaragua. From 1922 she was based in the Panama Canal zone, and the boilers were replaced by oil-burning ones. She joined the Asiatic Fleet the same year, dealt with Chinese unrest in Fuzhou, anchored at the Pagoda Anchorage, mouth of the Min, her Marines quartered at the American consulate. She observed the 1922 Japanese-Chinese Shantung Agreement. In 1923 she was sent to Canton, but refuelled at Hong Kong. She then patrolled between Shantou, Canton, Fuzhou, Amoy, and Yangjiang. She “showed the flag” or put landing forces ashore during the unrest in the Yangtze valley in 1926 and 1927 and up to the Makyoung River to Yangjiang.

In 1929 she was back to Panama. In 1931 she took part in the intervention of Nicaragua. In 1932 she was back with the Asiatic fleet, and in 1937-38 witnessed the started of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Showing the flag again. During the siege and battle of Nanjing in December 1937 she was anchored within 300 yards of the Bund, keeping a careful watch on Japanese activities and sending medical aid. She was sent later to Shantou, but Admiral Thomas C. Hart, sent her and sister Tulsa to the Philippines on 5 July 1941, settling in Manila. Sghe was repaired after a typhoon and part later of the Inshore Patrol at Manila until December 1941. From 8 December she was in Manila Bay but was ordered to move to Mariveles Bay and, and patrolled off Corregidor. At 13:00 PM, 10 December, while on patrol station “Cast”, her spotters noted explosions at Cavite Navy Yard and 27 Japanese G3M and G4M bombers from the Takao and 1st Kōkūtai. Soon she was joined by AA guns at Corregidor. Admiral Hart then sent Asheville south, to the “Malay Barrier” and only tenders and submarines remaining.

Via the Celebes Sea and Balikpapan she reached Surabaya, Tjilatjap, when hearing USS Langley had been crippled south of Java on 27 February 1942. Asheville was sent to help. On 1 March 1942, Vice Admiral William A. Glassford (Southwest Pacific Force) ordered her to Australian waters, and under Lt. Jacob W. Britt in command, she left Tjilatjap at 15:00 PM on 1 March 1942 for Fremantle. On 2 March, she was spotted by the Australian corvette HMAS Bendigo but at 06:15 she was last seen by her sister. On 3 March, Asheville signalled she was attacked south of Java, a radio call caught by the minesweeper Whippoorwill. Presumed lost, she was stricken on 8 May 1942. Asheville in fact had engines troubles and was spotted by the Japanese on 3 March by a shipborne scout plane south of Java, then caught by IJN DDs Arashi and Nowaki and the cruiser Maya. She was “softened up” at close range by both destroyers like an exercise target, as the cruiser was kept in backup. There was a 30-minute gun battle before she sank. Her only known survivor died in a Makassar POW camp on 18 March 1945.

Well known as the entry point by world of warships players for the USN, these ships had been classed as “sloops” and later reclassified as patrol gunboats. Erie and Charleston were imaginative attempts to combine peacetime and Wartime missions in the one class of surface combatants not limited bv the London Treaty of 1930: ‘sloops” of up to 2000 tons, with speeds of up to 20kts, and armed with guns of 6. lin or lesser calibre. Given the battle-line speed ot about 20kts, and usually less, such ships might well be designed to replace screening cruisers in wartime. They would also be useful in coastal or convoy ASW, and so might free destroyers (whose numbers were limited bv treaty) for Other duties.

In the convoy role, their 6in guns would be a usetul counter to Cconverted merchant raiders, considered à major problem before World War IL, when it was assumed that submarines would not carry on unlimited commerce warfare since such warfare had been outlawed. Minelaying was another possible wartime duty. In peacetime, the United States required gunboats with impressive firepower and relatively limited draught for operations in the Caribbean and in Central America, where the Marines repeatedly intervened to keep the peace. Peacetime cruising also required considerable habitability, which made it difficult to provide military features within a hull limited by treaty, and the requirement to save weight accounts for the unusual hull form actually adopted.

Relatively little power was required to have a 2000-ton ship at 20 kts. On trials Erie developed 5,940 shp for 20.4 knots at 2,281t and in fact the power requirement could be reduced by cutting waterline length (and wetted area — at this speed resistance was largely frictional). However, the wartime role demanded a long fantail for depth-charge racks, depth-charge projectors, and perhaps mine rails. A long bow was required to keep the forward 6in gun dry; hence the pronounced clipper bow and the apparently old-fashioned counter stern.

Both peace and war missions required a scout aircraft, but the designers were unable to find space or weight for a catapult, and had to settle for a crane and a stowage space amidships; the aircraft would have to take off directly from the water. Originally a Curtiss SOC Seagull as the older Vought O2U Corsair was reserved for gunnery spotting. In WW2 it was replaced by the far better Vought OS2U Kingsfisher. Stowed aft, a derrick helped putting it at sea or retrieve it.

The gun mounts were the final example of weight saving apparent in the design: there was not enough weight for power loading or for fully-enclosed shields, and in fact 6in elevation had to be limited. This class introduced the new 6in/+7 gun with its powder enclosed in a cartridge; had there been no such gun, the old Sin/S1 would have been selected in preference to the more awkward 6in, 3 ot earlier ships, with its bag ammunition.

The wartime role demanded protection, but once again the treaty limit precluded very much. As in the carrier USS Wasp, the solution adopted was to fit internal protection, including deck armour, and to make provision for a belt to be fitted upon the suspension of treaty hits in wartime. It does not, however, appear that this was ever done in either case. Indeed, USS Charleston, the surviving ship, was little modified in wartime.

⚙ specifications
Displacement	2,000t standard, 2,339t FL
Dimensions	328 ft 6 in x 41 ft 3 in x 14 ft 10 in (100.13 x 12.57 x 4.52 m)
Propulsion	2 shafts Parsons GSRST, 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers: 6,200 shp (4,600 kW)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range	8,000 nmi (9,200 mi; 15,000 km) at 12 knots.
Armament	4× 6 in/47 Mark 17, 4×4 1.1 in AA (later 6× 20 mm, 2 Mark 6 DCs (30))
Protection	Belt 3.5 in, Deck 1.25 in, CT 4 in, gunshields 1 in
Sensors	WW2: Mark 3 Radar, Sonar
Air Group	1 seaplane, see notes
Crew	243+

Riverine Gunboats

Six river gunboats for service on the Yangtze were authorized under the programme for KY25: Four of 180 ft length and two of 200 fr. This distinction behind this distinction is unclear, as the reasoning as several gunboat manders observed that the shorter river gunboats, the better she would negotiate the twists of the river, and the farther up-river she would be able to penetrate. However, as the Design History notes, “It is important as a factor in American influence in China that these vessels outclass in smartness of finish and appearancee the gunboats of all other nationalities”.

In fact the group of six boats was divided into three classes: Wake and Tutuila of 150ft, Panay and Oahu of 180ft (as originally designed, and as all were to have been), and Luzon and Mindanao of 198ft. Only Tutuila avoided capture by steaming up-river to Chunking; she was turned over to the Chinese in March 1942. Panay was sunk in 1937, and Wake was captured by the Japanese at Shanghai on the outbreak of war. The three larger boats withdrew to the Philippines, where two were scuttled and Luzon was lost.

Their story ws immortalized in a famous movie, the Sand Pebbles (1966) about the Panay incident in Shanghai.

USS Guam (PG-43) underway at Woosungn, China 15 Dec. 1927

Displacement: 370t. Dimensions: 150ft wl/159ft 5in oa x 27ft lin x 5ft lin mean (45.72/48.59 x 8.25 x 1.55m)
Machinery: 2-shaft VTE, 2 Tnornycroft boilers, 1,950ihp for 14.5kts
Armament: 2-3in/23. Complement: 70 Class.
Class: PR3 Wake (ex-Guam) (to China 1946), PR4 Tutuila (to China Mar 1942).
USS Wake was launched and commissioned as USS Guam on 28 December 1927 and reclassified as PR-3 (River Gunboat) on 15 June 1928. She was then renamed USS Wake on 23 January 1941 to free her name for an Alaska class cruiser, and captured by the IJN on 8 Dec. integrated as Tatara and recaptured by the US in August 1945 stricken and transferred to Nat. China as RCS Tai Yuan, then captured by the communists in 1949 and active until the 1960s. Quite a career. Note: They will be covered by their own post in the future.

USS Panay PR-5 underway off Woosong China 30 August 1928

Displacement: 450t. Dimensions: 180ft wl, 191ft lin oa x 28ft lin x 5ft 3in (54.86/58.24 x 8.56 x 1.60m).
Machinery: 2-shaft VTE, 2 Thornycroft boilers: 2,250ihp, 15kts
Armament: 2-3in/50. Complement: 70
Class (fate): PR5 Panay (lost 12.12.37), PR6 Oahu (lost 6.5.42). Note: They will be covered by their own post in the future.

USS Luzon in China, 1930s.

Displacement: 560t Dimensions: 64.24 x 9.47 x 1.70m
Machinery: 2-shaft VTE, 2 Thornycroft boilers 3,150 ihp for 16 kts.
Armament: 2-3in/50. hp for 16kts. Crew 70.
Class: PR7 Luzon (captured as Karatsu (唐津) lost 3.2,45), PR8 Mindanao (lost 5.5 1942). Note: They will be covered by their own post in the future.

Ex-Yachts

Note: The full list is currently in research. This will lead to other entries in a newt update.

USS Vixen was born as the yacht “Orion” Ownes by the German-American woollen manufacturer magnate Julius Forstmann. She was built at Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, Yard number 502, laid down in 1929 and launched by August 1929. She was acquired by the US Navy on 13 November 1940 and renamed USS Vixen (the female fox), standardized and armed, equipped by the USN at Sullivan Drydock and Repair Co., Brooklyn, New York, commissioned on 25 February 1941. She started her career off New London as flagship for ComSubLant Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards. She was then berthed at the Washington Navy Yard until 17 June 1942, relieved by Dauntless (PG-61).

Next she was adopted by Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll, regularly changed bases, Boston, Portland, New London, New York City, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Curaçao. In 1944-45 she was adopted by his successor Admiral Jonas H. Ingram. She was decommissioned on 24 May 1946 and struck on 3 July 1946, transferred to the War Shipping Administration, resold on 21 January 1947, retaking her old name. Rebuilt as a cruise ship by Epirotiki Lines of Greece in 1965, lit. saved from the scrapyard, active as Argonaut until 2004, last used as a hotel at Athens for the summer olympics, BU in 2005.

Specs.

Disp. 3,774 long tons (3,835 t), dimensions 333 ft 2 in x 46 ft 7 in x 16 ft (101.55 x 14.20 x 4.9 m)
Propulsion 2 shafts 1,800 bhp (1,342 kW) Krupp diesels: 15 knots. Crew 279.
Armament: 4× 3 in, 7× .50 cal, 2× .30 cal MGs, 2 DCT.

Nourmahal was originally built as a yacht for the multi-millionaire Vincent Astor in 1928 at Krupp Iron Works, Kiel, third Astor family yacht of the name, replacing the one from Cox & Stevens of 1921. She was acquired by the USN on 21 March 1940 and after conversion Commissioned on 21 August 1940 as USCGC Nourmahal (WPG-72) so for the Coat Guard initially. However she was re-acquired on 3 March 1942 by the Navy under a bareboat charter agreement, srill operated by the Coast Guard and redesignated PG-72 on 9 April 1943. She was also purchased by the Navy for $1,000,000 under option on 25 June but returned to the Coast Guard on 29 December, reclassified WPG-122. Struck from the Naval Register on 12 January 1944, decommissioned on 30 May 1946 and udner the Maritime Administration for disposal, 18 July 1948. Never purchased back she remained in the James River Fleet until sold for scrap on 11 September 1964 for $27,502.

Specs.

Disp. 2,250 long tons standard, 263 ft 10 in x 41 ft 6 in x 18 ft 5 in (80.42, 12.65 x 5.61 m)
Propulsion: 2 shafts 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) diesels, 15 knots. Crew 107-111.
Armament: 2× 4″/50, 6× .50, 8× .30 cal, 2 DCT. Later 4 Y-guns, 2 mousetrap.

Born “Esmaro” for Mrs. Hiram Edward Manville this yacht was ordered from Bath Iron Works, Maine, laid down on 14 November 1928, launched on 7 June 1929 and acquired on 20 August 1929 after delivery. She was purchased by the US Navy on 16 October 1940, renamed USS Niagara (for Fort Niagara) and converted as a gunboat at New York Navy Yard, commissioned on 20 January 1941 at first as a Coastal minelayer CMc-2 from 31 October 1940, then Patrol gunboat PG-52 from 15 November on the West Coast and MTB tender AGP-1 from 13 January 1943. She was then based at Nouméa, New Caledonia to support the Guadalcanbal campaign from 17 January 1943, assigned to the Motor Torpedo Boat Division 23, Squadron 8. She followed them at Tulagi, but on 7 April the Japanesez launched 177 planes, 25 shot down but they sank HMNZS Moa.

Niagara was in the Maliali River, close to the minesweeper Rail (AM-26) when attacked. She downed two and had only strafing damage. On 22 May with TBD 23, she sailed to New Guinea but the following morning she waqs attacked by a lone aircraft and took three near-misses starboard, one port, loosing her sound gear and training on a 3 inch gun as well as steering temporarily. The latter was just repaired when she was attacked by six more aircraft and cornered by a pattern of over a dozen bombs. One direct hit on her forecastle caused a massive flooding and she lost all power, listing to port. Order was soon given to abandon ship and the crew was rescued by PT–146 and PT–147. She was scuttled by a torpedo. Everyone survived.

Vorn as “Savarona” in 1928 she was built by Pusey & Jones Corp. in Wilmington, Delaware, for Mrs. Thomas S. Cadwallader of Philadelphia, and was said to be then the largest and most luxurious yacht in the world. Colonel William Boyce Thompson purchased it in 1929, as “Alder”. Later his daughter donating her to the U.S. Navy. on 6 December 1940. She was converted into a gunboat at the Fletcher Division Shipyard, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., in Hoboken and became USS Jamestown, PG-55, fitted out at and commissioned at New York Navy Yard 26 May 1941. The 1,780 tons, 294 ft (90 m) x 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m) x 16 ft (4.9 m) veseels had VTE engines for 15 knots (28 km/h) and a crew of 259 while armed by two 3″/50 caliber guns and six 20mm AA guns. She started by training midshipmen for Annapolis starting 1 June for a first 2-week training cruise to Norfolk. Next she was back to New York to be fitted out as a motor-torpedo-boat tender, sailed to Melville, Rhode Island to tend for the Motor Torpedo Boat Training Center, forming Squadron 4. By June 1942, she returned to New York to be prepared for her Pacific deployment.

She sailed to the New Hebrides via the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor and sailed to assist the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. She took a distant part of Operation Watchtower from Espiritu Santo, awaiting the arrival of the PT boats of Squadron 3. So she escorted resupply convoys and towed a barge carrying 2,000 barrels of gasoline and bombs. Next, she was based in Noumea, New Caledonia by September, receiving Squadron 3 boats, towed or carried by the cargo ship Bellatrix. She was at Tulagi 22 October but had to face constant air attack. She also assisted preliminary repairs of some battle-damaged American cruisers and sent parties ashore to construct pipelines. She was later included in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded the 1st Marine Division. She became AGP-3 on 13 January 1943, and alternated with the New Hebrides and Rendova. She left Tulagi 9 February 1944 for an overhaul at San Pedro and back to Espiritu Santo 5 August. She was based in New Guinea. The the Philippines from 5 February 1945, Leyte with MTB Squadron 24 until 18 March, then Schouten Islands, Borneo and Layte until Japan surrendered.
She left Samar for home 20 October 1945, decommissioned at San Francisco on 6 March 1946, transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 4 September, sold to Balfour Gutrie and Co., Ltd., on 16 December 1946. Fate unknown.

This ex-Yacht was laid down in 1931 at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as “Alva” for William Kissam Vanderbilt II. She was given to the United States Navy on 4 November 1941, by her owner, reduced commission at Jacksonville on 29 December 1941 and converted at Washington DC Nyd. Recom. 29 December 1941 she was Sunk on 5 August 1943. From 24 December 1942 to 13 June 1943, she made eight convoy escort trips from New York to Key West and back but on 2 March 1943 she collided with SC-1024 off of Cape Hatteras.

She left for her last mission on 4 August 1943 and at 21.37 PM the following evening she had a sound contact 90 miles east of Elizabeth City (North Carolina), swung left to bear on it when torpedoed by U-566 just abaft the bridge. This was such that she rolled to starboard and took on a heavy list to port, in flames, disappreing in two minutes. Lt. Ormsby M. Mitchel Jr., USNR directed abandon ship operations and was later rescued by USCGC Calypso, awarded the Navy Cross as well as Soundman 3/Class Franklin A. McGinty and Purple Heart as Ensign Rubin Keltch, both posthumously. Between heavy seas and sharks only 85 survived.

Specs

Disp: 1,500 long tons (1,524 t), dims. 264 ft 5 in x 46 ft 2 in x 19 ft (80.59 x 14.07 x 5.8 m)
PP Unknown Speed 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Crew 155 officers and men.
Armament: 1× 4-in/38, 3× 3-in/23.

USS dauntless PG-61 pierside at the Washington Navy Yard c. 1944-1945.
SS Delphine was a steam yacht launched in 1921. During the Second World War, the yacht was used by the US Navy, as the gunboat USS Dauntless (PG-61). Acquired on 21 January 1942, she was Commissioned 11 in May 1942. She was planned as flagship for Admiral Ernest King, CiC/CNO and President Franklin D. Roosevelt used it for the Yalta accords with the drafts made on board. She was Decommissioned on 11 May 1946, Stricken 5 June 1946, sold back to Anna Dodge (Horace Dodge’s wife), restored to civilian standards under her original name. Sold 1989 to Sea Sun Cruises (Fr/Singapore), 1997 to Monaco, private, still around in 2003, her last refit.

Specs

Disp. 1342 t GRT, 257.8 x 35.5 x 14.6 ft (78.6 x 10.8 x 4.5 m)
Powerplant: 2 shafts 1,500 ihp (1,100 kW) VQE, 3× 250 psi Babcock boilers
Speed: 12 kts (22 km/h; 14 mph); 26 passengers and 24-30 crew.
Armament: 2x 3-in/23, 6x 0.5 cal HMG, Marine detachment.

USS Action PG-93

USS Fury off Liberpool

Early in 1942 the US Navy had a large ASW programme in progress, but almost no ASW craft in commission; it was desperate for complete or almost complete hulls. British-built corvettes were transferred as the “gunboats” PG62-71 and fifteen more were ordered in Canada as PG86-100, of which seven (PG88, 90, 91 and 97-100) were turned over to the Royal Navy upon completion. The principal difference between British and Canadian-builtships was in the gun battery: One 4in/50 forward in the former, with a 3-in 50 aft, and two 3in/50 in the latter. Externally, the later series had a raised gun Hedgehog platform forward, whereas in the ex-British ships both were much closer to deck level. All these ships began, of course, with British weapons and radars, and were gradually refitted 10 US standards.

Specs PG-62 class

Displacement: 1,375t full load.
Dimensions: 190ft/205ft (PG62-71 205ft 2in) oa x 33ft x 14ft 7in max 57.91, 62.48 (62.54) x 10.06 x 4.45m
Machinery: 1-shaft VTE, 2 boilers, 2,750ihp = 16.5kts. Oil 337t
Armament (1945): 2-3in/50 (PG62-71 1—4in/50, 1-3in/50), 4 x20mm, 1 Hedgehog, 4 DC projectors, 2 DC racks
Complement: 90 (PG62-71 87).

Class:

Smiths Dock (PG62) — Temptress (ex-HMS Veronica) (lost Jan 1947)
Crown (PG63) — Surprise (ex-HMS Heliotrope) (to China 1947)
Harland & Wolff (PG64-PG67, PG70) Spry (ex-HMS Hibiscus) (sold 1947)
Saucy (ex-HMS Arabis) (sold 1947)
Restless (ex-HMS Periwinkle) (sold 1947)
Ready (ex-HMS Calendula) (sold 1948)
Courage (ex-HMS Heartsease, ex Pansy) (lost Dec 1958)
Cook Welton (PG68) — Impulse (ex-HMS Begonia) (sold 1946)
Fleming & Ferguson (PG69) — Fury (ex-HMS Larkspur) (sold 1946)
Grangemouth (PG71) – Tenacity (ex-HMS Candytuft) (sold 1947)
Collingwood (PG86-PG88, PG97-PG99) Action (ex-HMS Comfrey) (sold 1952)
Alacrity (ex-HMS Cornel) (sold 1948)
Beacon (ex-HMS Dittany) (sold 1956)
Splendor (ex-HMS Rosebay) (sold 1950)
Tact (ex-HMS Smilax) (to Argentina 1946)
Vim (ex-HMS Statice) (sold May 1947)
Kingston (PG89, PG90) Brisk (ex-HMS Flax) (sold 1955)
Caprice (ex-HMS Honesty) (sold Dec 1946)
Midland (PG91) – Clash (ex-HMS Linaria) (sold 1948)
Virahiry (ex-HMS Willowherb) (sold May 1947)
Morton (PG92-PG96) -Haste (ex-HMS Mandrake) (sold 1949)
Intensirv (ex HMS Milfoil) (sold 1956)
Might (ex-HMS Musk) (sold 1957)
Pert (ex-HMS Nepeta) (sold 1956)
Prudent (ex-HMS Privet) (to Italy 1949)

These were basically Tacoma class frigates (The US River class) reconverted as gunboats, PG-101 to PG-110. The US Navy indeed ordered ten Canadian frigates as PG101-110 but only two were retained, and they became the prototype frigates, PF1 and 2. PG111-210 were reclassified as PF3-102 (see under ‘Frigates’). PG72 and 85 were ex-yachts and numbers 73-84 were not used.

USS PGM-1 leading the PGM-1 class motor gunboat was originally laid down as an SC-497 class submarine chaser on 29 November 1941 (Peterson Boat Works, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin), launched on 27 June 1942. She was commissioned as SC-644 on 16 October 1942 but was later converted to a PGM-1 class from 10 December 1943. She fought with distinction in the Northern Solomon Islands on 15 June 1944. Foreign Liquidations Commission on 20 May 1947. PGM2 was the ex-SC-497 comm. 12 August 1943. Same fate as her sisters. A good career example can be found with PGM3. The class also comprised PGM-4 to PGM-8.

Specs PGM-1 class

Displacement: 95 tons, 110 ft 10 i x 23 x 10 ft 10 in (33.78 x 7 x 3.30 m)
Propulsion: 2 shafts Electro-Motive Corp. 16-184A diesels 1,540 bhp (1,148 kW)
Speed: 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h). Crew 28.
Armament 1× 3″/23 DP, 1× 40 mm, 8×2 .50 cal Bwrowning HMG

The PGM-9-class motor gunboats were a class of 24 gunboats converted from PC-461 class submarine chasers from 1944 to 1945 as successors of the PGM-1-class motor gunboats. All 24 PGM-9s were converted while still under construction, to support PT boats in the Pacific. They were too slow however to keep up, and were shifted to support minesweeping afterwards. Most were attributed to the Philippines Navy under MDAP. They were larger but carried a modified armament, with a longer 50 cal. 3-in guns, same twin 40 mm Bofors but with six 20 mm AA in complement to the heavy machine guns.

Specs PGM-9 class

Displacement: 450 tons, dim. 173 ft 8 in x 23 ft, 10 ft 10 in (52.93 x 7 x 3.30 m)
Powerplant: 2 shafts diesel1,440 bhp (1,070 kW)
Speed: 20.2 knots (37.4 km/h; 23.2 mph). Crew 65.
Armament: 1× 3″/50 DP, 1×2 40 mm, 6× 20 mm, 2× .50 cal HMGs.

The admirable class were both ASW vessels and minesweepers, and they proved…

Src/Read More

Books

Osprey US Navy Gunboats 1885–1945 Brian Lane Herder, Adam Tooby
Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1922–1946

Links

ww2f.com
Eleventh-Hour Peril: The U.S. Naval Escape from China
Proceedings USNI Yangtze Gunboats
ibiblio.org PGs
Dr. Clarke about gunboats
navalmarinearchive.com/
uboat.net
Category:Gunboats_of_the_United_States_Navy
Erie-class_gunboat

Video