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Historian's Office
Assets: Cutters & Craft - Complete List
"PC" Vessels
(Manned by Coast Guard crews, 1942-1946: PC-469; PC-545; PC-556; PC-590)Under an agreement made between the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Chief of Naval Operations, the Coast Guard agreed to supply officers and crewmen for four PC-class warships beginning in June of 1942. From mid-1941 up to that time, Coast Guard crews had served successfully on board Navy attack transports and with personnel to spare, it was an obvious choice to let the Coast Guard continue to assist in manning various ships of the ever increasing Navy fleet. Their experience with escort of convoy duties made the Coast Guard crews a valuable addition to the Allied fleets and they readily took to all of the various types of ships utilized by the Navy, including the Patrol, Coastal (PC) warships.
Note, however, that even with Coast Guard crews these PCs remained commissioned US Navy vessels.
PC-469
She was laid down on 30 June 1942 by George Lawley and Sons, Inc., Neponset, Massachusetts. She was launched on 10 June 1942 and was commissioned USS PC-469 on 13 July 1942 with a Coast Guard crew. During World War II, PC-469 was assigned to the Caribbean Sea Frontier and engaged the U-154 in a five-hour battle in November 1942, damaging the submarine and emerging unscathed. She then went on to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the following operations: Assault and Occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 - 28 February 1945; and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April - 28 June 1945, sinking two suicide motor boats and driving off a third in May 1945, and shooting down two Japanese aircraft six weeks later. Reclassified as a Control Submarine Chaser, PCC-469 on 20 August 1945. She returned to Charleston, South Carolina on 16 October 1945. Her Coast Guard crew was removed on 15 April 1946.She was decommissioned in June, 1946 and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida. Her final assignment was to the U. S. Naval Salvage School Bayonne, New Jersey. She was finally disposed of through testing in June, 1949.
Specifications:
Displacement 348 t.; Length 175'; Beam 23'; Draft 10' 10"; Top speed; 19.6 knots; Economical speed: 14 knots; Range: 3,300 mile @ 14 knots; Complement four officers, 62 enlisted; Armament, one single 3"/50 gun mount, one single 40mm gun mount; three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectiles, two depth charge tracks; Propulsion, two Fairbanks Morse 38D8 1/8 diesel engines, two shafts.
Read a first-hand narrative by one of the 469's commanding officers, Vice Admiral Thomas R. Sargent III, USCG (Ret.).
PC-545
Laid down, 31 March 1942 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Corp., Bay City, Michigan. She was launched on 8 May 1942. She was commissioned USS PC-545 on 27 June 1942 with a Coast Guard crew. PC-545 participated in the Sicilian occupation from 9 to 15 July and again from 28 July to 17 August 1943. She then participated in the Salerno landings from 9 to 12 September 1943 and the Anzio Netturno advanced landings from 28 January to February 1944. She then participated in the Invasion of Southern France from 15 August - September 1944. Decommissioned and transferred to France on 17 October 1944 at Toulon, France. Her Coast Guard crew was removed at that time as well.She was renamed Goumier (P-603) and then loaned to Morocco on 14 October 1960 where she was renamed Agadir (Q-390). Returned to France and struck from the Naval Register 8 December 1964. Sunk as a target in 1964.
Specifications:
Displacement 280 t.(lt) , 450 t.(fl); Length 175'; Beam 23'; Draft 10' 10"; Speed; 20k; Complement 59; Armament one single 3"/50 gun mount, one single 40mm gun mount; three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectiles, two depth charge tracks; Propulsion two General Motors 16-258S diesel engines, two shafts.
PC-556
Laid down, 1 October 1941 at Luders Marine Construction Co., Stamford, CT; Launched, 23 June 1942; Commissioned USS PC-556, 1 September 1942 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. During World War II, PC-556 was assigned to the European theater and participated in the following operations: Sicilian occupation, 9 - 15 July 1943; Salerno landings, 9 - 21 September 1943; Anzio-Netturno advanced landings, 22 - 28 January 1944 and 6 - 18 February 1944 (She was damaged by German aircraft off Anzio 10 May 1944); and the Invasion of Southern France, 15 August - 25 September 1944. Decommissioned and transferred to France, 19 October 1944 at Toulon, France; Renamed Carabinier (W-92); Struck from the Naval Register, 9 July 1958 and used as a training hulk under the name Uranium; Scrapped, 1968. PC-556 earned four battle stars for World War II service.Specifications:
Displacement 280 t.(lt) , 450 t.(fl); Length 175'; Beam 23'; Draft 10' 10"; Speed; 20k; Complement six officers, 53 enlisted; Armament one single 3"/50 gun mount, one single 40mm gun mount; three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectiles, two depth charge tracks; Propulsion two General Motors 16-258S diesel engines, two shafts.
PC-590
Laid down, 14 April 1942 by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She was launched on 4 July 1942. She was commissioned on 5 October 1942She broke in half and sank during Typhoon Louise on 9 October 1945 at Buckners Bay, Okinawa. She was struck from the Naval Register in July 1948.
Read the official Coast Guard historical account of her loss.
Specifications
Displacement 285 t.(lt) 450 t.(fl); Length 173' 8"; Beam 23'; Draft 10' 10"; Speed; 22k; Complement 65; Armament one single 3"/50 gun mount, one single 40mm gun mount; three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectiles, two depth charge tracks; Propulsion two General Motors 16-258S diesel engines, two shafts.
Sources:
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington, DC: USGPO.
NavSource Online: www.navsource.org/archives/12/01idx.htm
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.
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