|   USS PC-497 before her conversion into USS SC-497. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
|  United States | |
| Name | USS SC-497 | 
| Operator |  United States Navy | 
| Builder | Westergard Boat Works, Inc. | 
| Laid down | 7 March 1941 | 
| Launched | 4 July 1941 | 
| Commissioned | 15 April 1942 | 
| Fate | Transferred to France on 18 March 1944, permanently on 15 August 1944. | 
|    France | |
| Name | CH-96 | 
| Operator | |
| Acquired | 18 March 1944 | 
| Renamed | CH-724 in 1952 and later P-724 | 
| Fate | Withdrawn from service on 23 October 1980, fate unknown. | 
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | SC-497 class submarine chaser | 
| Type | submarine chaser | 
| Displacement | 148 tons | 
| Length | 110 ft 10 in (34 m) | 
| Beam | 17 ft (5 m) | 
| Draft | 6 ft 6 in (2 m) | 
| Propulsion | 
 | 
| Speed | 15.6 knots | 
| Complement | 28 | 
| Armament | 
 | 
USS SC-497 was a SC-497 class submarine chaser that served in the United States Navy and later the Free French Navy during World War II. She was originally laid down as PC-497 on 29 November 1941 by the Westergard Boat Works in Rockport, Texas, and launched on 4 July 1941. She was commissioned as USS PC-497 on 16 October 1942. She was later reclassified as a SC-497 class submarine chaser and renamed SC-497. She was transferred to the Free French Navy as part of the Lend-Lease program on 18 March 1944 as CH-96. The transfer was made permanent on 15 August 1944. She was renamed CH-724 in 1952 and later P-724 before being withdrawn from service on 23 October 1980. Her exact fate is unknown. [1]