USCGC Pandora

Three Coast Guard seaplanes greet USCGC Pandora as she arrives in Miami on 6 December 1934
History
United States
Name	Pandora
Namesake	Pandora, a Greek mythological figure
Builder	Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation
Cost	US$258,000
Yard number	Hull number: 273
Launched	30 June 1934
Sponsored by	Margaret Hughes
Commissioned	1 November 1934
Decommissioned	1 May 1959
In service	1934–1959
Refit	1941 1945
Homeport	Miami, Florida (1934–1939) Key West, Florida (1939–1959)
Identification	Designation: P-13 (assigned 1934) WPC-113 (assigned 1942) Signal letters: NRGO
Fate	Sold for scrap, 4 November 1959
General characteristics (1933 construction)
Class & type	Thetis-class patrol boat
Displacement	337 long tons (342  t)
Length	165 ft (50 m)
Beam	25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
Draft	7 ft 8 in (2 m)
Installed power	2 × Winton, 6-cyl, Model 158 diesels 1,340 hp (1,000 kW)
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)) (maximum) 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) (cruising)
Range	3,000 mi (4,800 km) (cruising)
Complement	5 officers, 68 men
Armament	1 × 3-inch/23 gun 2 × 1 lb (0.45 kg) guns
General characteristics (1941 refit)
Armament	1 × 3-inch/23 gun 2 × depth charge tracks 1 × Y-gun
General characteristics (1945 refit)
Complement	7 officers, 68 men
Armament	2 × 3-inch/50 2 × single 20mm/80 guns 2 × depth charge tracks 2 × Mousetraps 1 × Y-gun

USCGC Pandora (WPC-113) was a Thetis-class patrol boat and United States Coast Guard Cutter. She was commissioned in November 1934 and was based in Florida. She patrolled the Eastern Sea Frontier during World War II, and then the Gulf of Mexico during the postwar years. She was decommissioned in 1959 and sold for scrap.

Design

Pandora had an overall length of 165 feet (50 m), a beam of 25.25 feet (7.70 m), and a draft of 7.67 feet (2.34 m). Her displacement was 337 long tons (342 tonnes ). She had a complement of 5 officers and 68 men. The cutter was propelled by two Winton 6-cylinder, Model 158 diesel engines. They were capable of producing 1,340 brake horsepower (1,000 kW). She had a maximum speed of 16 knots (18 mph) and a cruising speed of 11 knots (13 mph); she had a radius of 3,000 miles (4,800 km) while traveling at her cruising speed. She was armed with a 3-inch/23-caliber gun and two 1 lb (0.45 kg) guns. ^[1]

Construction

Pandora (right) alongside her sister ships Dione and Electra , 1934

Pandora was a 165-foot (B) Thetis-class patrol craft, ^[1] designated hull number 273, ^[2] built by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The launch of the cutter and her two sister ships, Dione and Electra, was originally to occur on 23 June; the launch was postponed one week per an announcement by the chief government inspector and shipyard officials. ^{[3] : 2} The cutter was launched alongside her sisters ^{[4] : 9} on 30 June 1934. ^[1] Pandora was christened by Margaret Hughes, niece of Congressman James F. Hughes of De Pere. ^{[5] : 1} She was commissioned 1 November 1934. The cutter was named for Pandora, the woman that opened her namesake box and let human ills out into the world in Greek mythology. ^{[1] [6]} She was assigned the building number P-15 ^{[7] : 2} and the signal letters NRGO. ^{[8] : 90} She cost US$258,000 to construct. ^[1]

Service history

Pandora was stationed in Miami, ^{[1] [6]} arriving 6 December 1934. She was headquartered there until 1939, when she was transferred to Key West. She participated in a "Goodwill Cruise" in January 1940, visiting Mexico and Central America. The cutter was transferred to the US Navy on 1 November 1941 after the issuing of Executive Order 8929, and was assigned to the Eastern Sea Frontier. She was re-armed with two racks to hold depth charges and a Y-gun depth charge launcher, ^[1] which was designed to throw depth charges over the sides of the cutter and into the water. ^{[9] : 3}

The cutter served as a naval coastal patrol and rescue craft out of Key West for the duration of World War II. ^[1] Sometime in February 1942, the Thetis class patrol boats were issued alpha-numeric designations, that began with WPC. ^{[10] : 166  [11] : 18}Pandora was designated WPC-113. ^{[11] : 18}

In 1945, the cutter underwent a refit. Her complement was increased to 7 officers and 68 men. She was equipped with two mousetrap anti-submarine rocket launchers, two single 20mm/80 guns, and two 3-inch/50-caliber naval guns. Her 3-inch/23-caliber gun was removed. ^[1] Pandora was returned to the Treasury Department on 1 January 1946, patrolling the Gulf of Mexico ^{[1] [6]} until she was decommissioned on 1 May 1959 and sold for scrap on 4 November 1959. ^[1]

References

1. "Pandora, 1934 (WPC-113)". United States Coast Guard. 6 March 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
2. "Manitowoc Shipbuilding, Manitowoc WI". Naval Marine Archive The Canadian Collection. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
3. "Postpone Launching of Coast Guard Boats". Kenosha News . 7 June 1934. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
4. Delgado, James P. (30 June 1987). "Potomac (Presidential Yacht)". National Park Service . Retrieved 12 October 2025.
5. "Crowd of 10,000 Attends Launching". The Sheboygan Press. 30 June 1934. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
6. "Pandora". Naval History and Heritage Command. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
7. Flynn, James (2 April 2014). U.S. Coast Guard "W" Numbers (PDF). Originally published in The Belgian Shiplover. United States Coast Guard.
8. "United States Coast Guard". Signal Letters of the United States Merchant Marine: 1941. 10. United States Government Printing Office. 1941 – via HathiTrust.
9. Depth Charge Projector Mark I (or Y-Gun) (Revised ed.). Government Printing Office. October 1918.
10. Chesneau, Roger (1980). "United States". Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   9780851771465 . Retrieved 29 October 2025– via Internet Archive.
11. Dropkin, Les (January 2002). "Sister Ships: The Thetis Class Coast Guard Patrol Boats" (PDF). USS Potomac. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2025– via Wayback Machine.