![]() USS PC-509 around 1943, the year in which she was renamed USS Valiant (PYc-51). | |
History | |
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Name: |
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Builder: | Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, Bristol, Rhode Island |
Completed: | 1929 |
Acquired: | 7 October 1940 |
Commissioned: | 27 December 1941 |
Decommissioned: | September 1944 |
Renamed: | USS Valiant 15 July 1943 |
Reclassified: | From "submarine chaser" (PC-509) to "coastal patrol yacht" (PYc-51) 15 July 1943 |
Struck: | 14 October 1944 |
Fate: | Sold 15 June 1945 |
Notes: | Operated as private yacht Vara 1929-1940 |
General characteristics | |
Type: |
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Displacement: | 190 tons |
Length: | 150 ft 0 in (45.72 m) |
Beam: | 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) |
Draft: | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) mean |
Propulsion: | Diesel engines, two shafts |
Speed: | 15 knots |
Armament: |
USS Valiant (PYc-51), originally USS PC-509, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1941 to 1944.
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.
Valiant was built in 1929 as the private yacht Vara by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island. The U.S. Navy acquired Vara from her owner, Harold S. "Mike" Vanderbilt (1884-1970), on 7 October 1940. She was converted for naval service at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, classified as a submarine chaser (PC), and commissioned as USS PC-509 on 27 December 1941 at New York City.
A yacht is a watercraft used for pleasure or sports. The term originates from the Dutch word jacht, and was originally referencing light fast sailing vessels that the Dutch Republic navy used to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. The yacht was popularized by Charles II of England as a pleasure or recreation vessel following his restoration in 1660.
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, as well as the county seat. It is a deep-water seaport named after Bristol, England.
Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest state in area, the seventh least populous, and the second most densely populated, but it has the longest official name of any state. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound. It also shares a small maritime border with New York. Providence is the state capital and most populous city in Rhode Island.
PC-509 was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone, where she was based throughout her naval career, and tasked with escorting convoys in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. She reached the Canal Zone on 2 February 1942. From February 1942 through April 1943, she escorted convoys according to a varied itinerary that included visits to Guantanamo Bay and Havana in Cuba; Jacksonville, Miami, and Key West in Florida; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The Panama Canal Zone was an unincorporated territory of the United States from 1903 to 1979, centered on the Panama Canal and surrounded by the Republic of Panama. The zone consisted of the canal and an area generally extending five miles (8.0 km) on each side of the centerline, excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of the Zone. Its border spanned three of Panama's provinces. When reservoirs were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the Zone.
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas. Arriving at the scene of a major emergency with a well-ordered unit and intact command structure can be another motivation.
The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida border the Gulf on the north, which are often referred to as the "Third Coast", in comparison with the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
In May 1943, PC-509 began to concentrate on the Canal Zone-Guantanamo Bay convoy route exclusively. On 15 July 1943, she was classified as a coastal patrol yacht (PYc), renamed USS Valiant, and redesignated PYc-51.
Between May 1943 and August 1944, she escorted seven convoys from the Panama Canal Zone to Guantanamo Bay; after the first six of these, she escorted another convoy back to the Canal Zone. Between convoys, she conducted routine patrols and participated in searches for German submarines, although there is no record of her ever seeing combat.
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term most commonly refers to a large, crewed vessel. It is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. The noun submarine evolved as a shortened form of submarine boat; by naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as "boats" rather than as "ships", regardless of their size.
Valiant escorted her seventh convoy from the Canal Zone safely into Guantanamo Bay on 25 August 1944. This time, instead of escorting a convoy back to the Canal Zone, she headed north for inactivation. She stopped briefly at Charleston on 28 August 1944 and arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 31 August 1944.
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. The Commonwealth is bordered by Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.
Valiant was decommissioned at Philadelphia sometime in September 1944 and turned over to the Commandant, 4th Naval District, for disposal. She was stricken from the Navy List on 14 October 1944 and sold by the War Shipping Administration on 15 June 1945.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country.
The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Commission and ship allocation under the WSA to Army, Navy or civilian needs were closely coordinated though Vice Admiral Emory S. Land who continued as head of the Maritime Commission while also heading the WSA.
USS Impetuous (PYc-46) was private yacht that served as a patrol boat of the United States Navy in both World War I and World War II under different names.
USS Goldsborough (DD-188/AVP-18/AVD-5/APD-32) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second Navy ship named for Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough (1805–1877). Entering service in 1920, the ship had a brief active life before being placed in reserve in 1922. Goldsborough was reactivated for World War II and was used as an aircraft tender, destroyer and high speed transport in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Following the war, the ship was sold for scrapping in 1946.
USS PC-586 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later renamed Patchogue (PC-586), the second U.S. Navy ship of the name, but never saw active service under that name.
USS PC-1138 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later renamed Lapeer (PC-1138) but never saw active service under that name.
USS Valiant has been the name of more than one United States Navy ship, and may refer to:
The first USS Persistent (PYc-48) was a submarine chaser of the United States Navy.
USS PC-465 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later renamed Paragould (PC-465) but never saw active service under that name. In 1961 she was transferred to the Venezuelan Navy under the name ARV Pulpo (P-7). She remained active in Venezuelan service until 1968, when she was placed in reserve. She was stricken in 1978 but her ultimate fate is unknown.
USS Jacob Jones (DE-130) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
USS Blair (DE-147) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
USS Otterstetter (DE-244) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
USS Swenning (DE-394) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
USS Cymophane (PYc-26) was a Cymophane-class patrol yacht acquired by the United States Navy early during World War II. She was used for patrol, escort, anti-submarine, and rescue operations along coastal waters.
USS Sturdy (PC-460/PYc-50) was a yacht converted to a patrol boat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of patrolling the coastal waters of the U.S. East Coast during World War II. Her primary task was to guard the coastal area against German submarines.
USS Venture (PC-826/PYc-51) was a patrol boat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of patrolling the coastal waters of the New York coast during World War I. Her primary task was to guard the coastal area against German submarines. For this reason, she carried depth charges.
USS Winnemucca (PC-1145) was laid down on 2 June 1943 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan; launched on 27 October 1943; and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 1 June 1944, with Lieutenant J. L. Houget, USNR, in command.
USS Susanville (PC-1149) was a patrol boat in the service of the United States Navy during World War II.
USS PC-1181 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later renamed Wildwood (PC-1181) but never saw active service under that name.
USS Alabaster (PYc-21) was a coastal patrol yacht of the United States Navy during World War II.
USS Turquoise (PY-18), was a yacht in commission in the United States Navy as a Patrol Yacht from 1940 to 1943.
USS Topaz (PYc-10) was a coastal patrol yacht in the service of the United States Navy. She was named for the gemstone Topaz.