USS Tacoma (PGM-92)

Last updated
USS Tacoma (PGM-92).jpg
USS Tacoma (PGM-92)
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameTacoma
NamesakeCity of Tacoma, Washington
Builder Tacoma Boatbuilding Company
Laid down24 July 1967
Launched13 April 1968
Commissioned14 July 1969
Decommissioned30 September 1981
Homeport
MottoFearless to challenge all valor
Honors and
awards		2 Battle Stars
FateLeased to the Colombian National Armada as Quita Sueño, 16 May 1983; sold to Colombia on 20 September 1995 [1]
General characteristics
Displacement247 tons (full load)
Length165 ft (50 m)
Beam24 ft (7.3 m)
Draught5 ft (1.5 m)Error: has synonymous parameter (help)
Draft12 feetError: has synonymous parameter (help)
PropulsionCODOG (Combined Diesel and Gas turbine
Speed37.5 knots
Complement24
Armament

USS Tacoma (PG-92) was an Asheville-class gunboat of the U.S. Navy and the fourth ship to be named after the city of Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma was the first in a series of revised Asheville-class gunboats. [2] Some sources call these revised boats Tacoma- or PG-92-class, [3] but the U.S. Navy officially designates them as Asheville-class. [4] The keel of Tacoma was laid 24 July 1967 at the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, in her namesake city. She was launched on 13 April 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Arne K. Strom, and was commissioned on 14 July 1969, with Lt. Frank H. Thomas, Jr., in command.

Contents

Originally fitted with a 40mm cannon aft, Tacoma was re-fitted with a 20mm for training. In addition to the dual mounts for .50 caliber machine guns on the O-1 level, there were mounts for twin M-60 machine guns on the O-2 level. Either could be replaced with the Mk 19 grenade launcher.

The Tacoma was powered by a combination of two Cummins Diesel engines and a General Electric LM-1500 Gas Turbine. Pneumatic actuators allowed the power source to be switched between the two sources. The Controllable Reversible Pitch (CRP) propellers allowed the ship to stop in as little as 2 ship lengths from top speed. Top speed on the gas turbine was in excess of 42 knots. [5]

History

1969–1970

During late 1969, Tacoma conducted shakedown training and independent ship exercises along the California coast. While so engaged on 16 October, she joined in a search and rescue mission and recovered a sailor who had fallen overboard from USS Neches the previous night. At the completion of refresher training, she participated in amphibious exercise PHIBELEX/BLT 4-69, off Camp Pendleton, in early December. In January 1970, she entered Long Beach Naval Shipyard for post-shakedown availability. Tacoma returned to San Diego on 20 May and began preparations for deployment to the western Pacific. On 1 August, after two months of operations out of San Diego, she got underway for the Mariana Islands. Following a week-long stopover in Pearl Harbor, the gunboat arrived in her new home port, Apra Harbor, Guam, on 28 August.

For almost four years, Tacoma alternated between deployments to South Vietnam and patrols in the islands of the Trust Territories of Micronesia. Her first tour of duty in Vietnamese waters began on 28 September 1970 when she arrived at Cam Ranh Bay after a week of upkeep at Subic Bay in the Philippines. She was assigned to the Coastal Surveillance Force and participated in search and rescue missions and interdicted North Vietnamese coastal supply traffic in Operation Market Time. On 22 November, she and several other units of the Coastal Surveillance Force cooperated in the destruction of a North Vietnamese infiltration trawler. She operated off the coast of Vietnam for two more months and then returned to Subic Bay on 31 January 1971. She remained there two weeks and then headed for Guam, arriving in Apra Harbor on 20 February. Tacoma earned two battle stars during the Vietnam War.

1971

For almost five months, the gunboat underwent overhaul and operated in the vicinity of Guam. On 9 July, she embarked upon her first patrol of the Trust Territories of Micronesia. Between then and 26 July, she visited seven islands in the Yap and Palau districts of the Eastern Carolines, conducting surveillance and making goodwill stops. She returned to Guam on the 26th, then departed again on 10 August. While on her second patrol in the Trust Territories, 10 August to 1 September, Tacoma visited 19 islands in the Truk and Ponape districts and apprehended a Japanese fishing vessel violating the territorial waters of the Trust Territories at Ngatik Island. She resumed operations in and around Guam on 1 September and was so occupied until early November.

1972

On 5 November, the gunboat departed Guam in company with USS Asheville and headed, via Subic Bay, for Vietnamese waters. On 29 November, she and Asheville relieved USS Crockett and USS Welch and resumed Market Time operations. After almost two months patrolling the Vietnamese coastline, Tacoma departed Cam Ranh Bay on 26 January 1972 for a visit to Bangkok, Thailand. There, she welcomed officers of the Royal Thai Navy on board for tours of the ship. On 3 February, she resumed coastal surveillance patrols along the coast of Vietnam. Late in March, trouble in her starboard main engine forced her to Subic Bay for repairs. The gunboat remained there from 29 March to 24 May; then she continued on to Guam, via Yap.

Tacoma reached Apra Harbor on 31 May and commenced three months of sea trials, independent exercises, restricted availabilities, and inspections. After a dependents' cruise to Saipan on 3 September and 4 September, the gunboat conducted refresher training until 14 October, when she headed back to Vietnam with Asheville. Between 20 October and 15 December, she made two patrols along the Vietnamese coast, broken by a visit to Bangkok, Thailand, in mid-November. On 15 December, she cleared Vietnamese waters and set sail for the Philippines. She laid over in Subic Bay beginning 18 December awaiting the completion of Asheville's engine repairs. Then, on 21 December, the two gunboats got underway for Guam, where they arrived on 28 December.

1973

During the first three months of 1973, Tacoma operated out of Guam, primarily conducting exercises. In February, she made a voyage to Hong Kong, via Subic Bay. The first three weeks in April saw her in port at Apra Harbor preparing for regular overhaul. Yard work on the ship began on 20 April and was completed two months later. In late June and early July, she conducted sea trials and various drills. The gunboat completed type training early in September, then put to sea on 12 September to shadow a Soviet submarine tender and fleet submarine operating in the vicinity of the northern Marianas. She returned to Apra on 18 September and, after a restricted availability, completed sea trials on 27 October. On 5 November, she began another patrol of the eastern Carolines, returning to Guam on 24 November. From 11 December to 16 December, Tacoma made a Christmas gift tour of the northern Marianas.

1974

Following repairs in December and January and refresher training in late January and early February, the gunboat departed Apra on 13 February 1974 for a three-month cruise. In late February, she participated in exercises with USS Midway, USS Oriskany, and USS Marathon, out of Subic Bay. In March, Tacoma visited Singapore and cruised the Malaysian coast. Late that month, she visited Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei on the northern coast of Borneo. After two days at Subic Bay, 4 May to 6 May, she headed for Taiwan and visits to Kaohsiung and Kee-lung. The gunboat returned to Guam on 27 May and commenced preparations to return to the United States.

Tacoma stood out of Apra on 21 June and reached Pearl Harbor on 3 July. Five days later, she continued eastward and arrived in San Diego, Calif., on 15 July. On 1 August, she headed south along the coast of California and Mexico, stopped at Acapulco for two days, and made Rodman, in the Canal Zone, on 17 August. She transited the canal on 22 August and headed, via Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Port Everglades, Florida, to her new home port, Little Creek, Virginia, where she arrived on 2 September.

1975–1981

During the period 14 April–30 June 1975, Tacoma was overhauled in the Norfolk area. On 3 September, following underway refresher training, Tacoma commenced the mission of serving as a training unit for Royal Saudi Navy personnel. That assignment, calling for operations along the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean, continued until decommissioning.

For the next five years, Tacoma and Welch were a part of the Saudi Naval Expansion Program, training Saudi personnel on shipboard operations cruising along the East Coast and Caribbean. The ships often served as Opposing Forces during training operations with the other fleet units.

Fate

Tacoma was decommissioned on 30 September 1981 at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, and at that time, was equipped with a 3"/50 caliber gun mount and a 20 mm aft.

On 16 May 1983 Tacoma and Welch were leased to the Colombian National Armada as fast attack ships ARC Quita Sueño and ARC Albuquerque, and were formally transferred to the government of Colombia on 20 September 1995. [1] Both ships have subsequently been transferred to the Colombian Customs agency. [6]

Awards

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Arnold J. Isbell</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869), a Gearing-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Arnold J. Isbell, an aircraft carrier captain during World War II. The ship was laid down on 14 March 1945 at Staten Island, New York, by Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, launched on 6 August 1945 and commissioned on 5 January 1946. Constructed too late to see action in World War II, the vessel initially served as a training ship with the United States Atlantic Fleet, before transferring to the Pacific and deploying to Korea during the Korean War and off the Vietnam coast during the Vietnam War. In 1972 Arnold J. Isbell was made part of the reserve training fleet and in 1974, sold to Greece where the ship was renamed Satchouris and served with the Hellenic Navy until being sold for scrap in 2002.

USS <i>Berkeley</i> Charles F. Adams-class destroyer

USS Berkeley (DDG-15) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Major General Randolph C. Berkeley, USMC (1875–1960), a Medal of Honor recipient for actions during the U.S. occupation of Veracruz (1914).

USS <i>Turner Joy</i> Forrest Sherman-class destroyer of the United States Navy

USS Turner Joy (DD-951) is one of 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy. She was named for Admiral Charles Turner Joy USN (1895–1956). Commissioned in 1959, she spent her entire career in the Pacific. She participated extensively in the Vietnam War, and was one of the principal ships involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

USS <i>Abnaki</i> US Navy fleet ocean tug in service 1943-1978

USS Abnaki (ATF-96) was the lead ship of the Abnaki class of fleet ocean tugs in the service of the United States Navy, named after the Abenaki tribe of Native Americans. She was laid down on 28 November 1942 at Charleston, South Carolina by Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock, launched on 22 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. James Mayon Jones, and commissioned at the Charleston Navy Yard on 25 November 1943 with Lt. Dewey Walley in command. Abnaki earned three battle stars for service during the Korean War and 10 battle stars during the Vietnam War.

USS <i>Alamo</i>

USS Alamo (LSD-33) was a Thomaston-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for the Alamo, site of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo.

USS <i>Agerholm</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Agerholm (DD-826) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the only ship named for Harold Crist Agerholm, a Private First Class (Pfc.) in the 2nd Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. He was killed during the assault on Saipan, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

USS <i>Albert David</i>

USS Albert David (FF-1050) was a Garcia-class destroyer escort, later reclassified as a frigate, in the United States Navy. She was named for Lieutenant Albert David, a Medal of Honor recipient. His was the only Medal of Honor awarded to a member of the Navy in the Atlantic Theater of Operations in World War II. Laid down on 28 April 1964 and commissioned on 19 October 1968, the Albert David served in the Pacific, including performing gunfire support operations in Vietnam during the 1970s. She was briefly deployed to the Arabian Sea in September and October 1982. On 18 September 1989 she was leased to the Brazilian Navy, and then sold to Brazil where she served as the destroyer Pará until 12 November 2008 when she was decommissioned and put in reserve.

USS <i>Sproston</i> (DD-577)

USS Sproston (DD-577) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for US Naval Lieutenant John G. Sproston, who was killed in action while leading an attack on a Confederate ironclad during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Badger</i> (FF-1071) United States Navy frigate

USS Badger (FF-1071) was a Knox-class frigate in service with in the United States Navy from 1970 to 1991. She was sunk as a target in 1998.

<i>Asheville</i>-class gunboat

The Asheville-class gunboats were a class of small warships built for the United States Navy in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The class is named for a city in western North Carolina and the seat of Buncombe County. All Asheville-class gunboats have since been donated to museums, scheduled for scrapping, or transferred to the Greek, Turkish, Colombian and South Korean Navies. The last two Asheville-class gunboats in US service were USS Chehalis and USS Grand Rapids, which were operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center until they were stricken in 2016.

USS Gannet (MSC-290) was an Albatross-class coastal minesweeper of the United States Navy. Laid down on 1 May 1959 by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Co., Inc., Tacoma, Washington, the ship was launched on 2 May 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Frank P. Luongo, Jr.; and commissioned in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 14 July 1961, Lt. E. L. Gaylor in command.

USS <i>Kretchmer</i> (DE-329)

USS Kretchmer (DE-329) 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 <i>Albatross</i> (MSC-289) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Albatross (MSC-289) was the lead ship of the Albatross-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for clearing coastal minefields.

USS <i>Advance</i> (MSO-510) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Advance (AM-510/MSO-510) was an Acme-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.

USS <i>Marathon</i> (PGM-89) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Marathon (PGM-89/PG-89) was an Asheville-class gunboat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of high speed patrolling in shallow waterways.

USS <i>Asheville</i> (PGM-84) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Asheville (PGM-84/PG-84) was an Asheville-class gunboat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of high speed patrolling in shallow waterways. The third ship to be named Asheville by the Navy, the vessel was laid down on 15 April 1964 at Tacoma, Washington, by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company and launched on 1 May 1965, sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Harris. Asheville was commissioned on 6 August 1966, Lt. Henry Dale in command.

USS <i>Loeser</i> Buckley-class destroyer escort

USS Loeser was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, named in honor of Lieutenant Commander Arthur E. Loeser (1903–1942).

USS <i>Antelope</i> (PG-86) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Antelope (PGM-86/PG-86) was an Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Ready</i> (PG-87) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The second USS Ready (PGM-87/PG-87) was a Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.

USS <i>Welch</i> (PG-93) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The second USS Welch (PGM-93/PG-93) was a Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.

References

  1. 1 2 "World Navies Today: US Navy Vessels Decommissioned Since 1980". Haze Gray & Underway. 2003-03-10. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  2. ↑ "Descriptions and Histories". Patrol Gunboat Reunion Association. 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  3. ↑ "PG 84 Asheville". GlobalSecurity.org. 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  4. ↑ For example, see: "Tacoma". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . United States Navy . Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  5. ↑ ENS Mark W. Swarthout, Chief Engineer, USS Tacoma PG-92, 1981 | date = 1981 | accessdate = 2007-10-26
  6. ↑ "USS Tacoma PG-92". Patrol Gunboat Reunion Association. 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-23.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.