USS PC-1137

Last updated
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS PC-1137
Builder
Laid down29 December 1942
Launched29 March 1943
Commissioned23 October 1943
RenamedUSS PCC-1137, 20 August 1945
Decommissioned10 August 1946
RenamedUSS Worthington (PCC-1137), 15 February 1956
Namesakecities in Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio
Stricken29 May 1959
Honors and
awards		1 battle star, World War II
FateSold for scrapping
General characteristics
Class and type PC-461-class submarine chaser
Displacement280 Tons
Length173 ft 8 in (52.93 m)
Beam23 ft (7.0 m)
Draft10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
Propulsion2 Diesel Electric
Speed20.2k during trials
Complement65
Armament

USS PC-1137 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. Shortly after the end of the war, she was renamed USS PCC-1137 when she was reclassified as a combat communications control ship. In 1956, she was renamed Worthington (PC-1137) but never saw active service under that name.

Contents

Career

PC-1137 was laid down on 29 December 1942 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan; launched on 29 March 1943; towed down the Mississippi River to New Orleans for outfitting and acceptance trials; and commissioned there on 23 October 1943.

PC-1137 headed for the southwestern Pacific late in November, after shakedown training at the Submarine Chaser Training Center based at Pier 2 at PortMiami, Florida. [1] She transited the Panama Canal on 5 and 6 December, and arrived at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on 18 February 1944. Assigned to Task Group (TG) 35.6, the ship spent the next five months escorting convoys among various American bases in the southwestern Pacific and conducting anti-submarine patrols from bases throughout the Solomons chain. On 26 July, she concluded that duty and began training to prepare for the invasion of the Western Carolines. Those preparations lasted until 4 September, at which time she departed Guadalcanal in the screen for LST Flotilla 13, bound for the Palaus.

During the initial assault on Peleliu between 14 and 16 September, she served as forward control and reference ship for the landings on Orange Beach 3. On the 16th, she completed that assignment and began screening the operational area against Japanese submarine attack. She remained occupied in this task until 15 November when she received orders assigning her to TG 96.3 at Eniwetok Atoll and signaling a return to convoy escort duty. Between 23 November 1944 and 3 March 1945, PC-1137 travelled the circuit between Eniwetok, Ulithi, Guam, and Saipan, screening supply and reinforcement convoys.

On 4 March, PC-1137 set a course for Pearl Harbor. She arrived at Oahu on 13 March and began a seven-week repair period during which she was converted to a combat communications control ship. She completed repairs and conversion near the end of the first week in May and then spent the following week in amphibious training exercises at Maui. On 21 May, PC-1137 put to sea with LST Flotilla 35 en route to the Mariana Islands. She arrived at Saipan on 10 June and reported for duty as a convoy escort. For the remainder of the war, she made the convoy run between the Marianas and Okinawa in support of the final campaign of World War II and conducted anti-submarine patrols out of Apra Harbor, Guam. On 20 August, five days after the cessation of hostilities, she was officially reclassified a combat communications control ship, PCC-1137. After a repair period in late August and early September, the ship departed Guam on 20 September, bound for Japan and duty in the occupation forces there.

She arrived in Tokyo Bay on 25 September and joined TG 53.4. The submarine chaser operated in Japanese waters with the occupation forces until the beginning of 1946. After several months service in the Central Pacific, notably at Truk, Eniwetok, and Guam, she departed Eniwetok to return to the United States.

The ship made a six-day stopover at Pearl Harbor and then continued on to the west coast, arriving in Astoria, Oregon, on 27 May. She began the inactivation process immediately and was decommissioned on 10 August. Berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, PCC-1137 lay idle during the remaining 12 years and six months of her Navy career. On 15 February 1956, she received the name Worthington, one she wore for only three years. On 29 May 1959, her name was struck from the Navy list; and later, she was sold for scrapping.

Worthington earned one battle star during World War II as PC-1137. Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas served as a gunnery and communications officer on the ship. [2]

Douglas said in his autobiographies that he had served in USS PC-1139. [3]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Acree</i> Cannon-class destroyer escort

USS Acree (DE-167) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.

USS PC-1136 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. Shortly after the end of the war, she was renamed USS PCC-1136 when she was reclassified as a combat communications control ship. In 1956, she was renamed Galena (PC-1136), becoming the third U.S. Navy vessel so named, 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 PC-1142 was a PC-461-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later renamed Hanford (PC-1142) but never saw active service under that name. Hanford was transferred to the Republic of China Navy in July 1957 and renamed ROCS Pei Chang (PC-122).

USS Annoy (AM-84) was an Adroit-class minesweeper of the United States Navy. She was laid down on 3 December 1941 at Portland, Oregon, by the Commercial Iron Works; launched on 6 April 1942; and commissioned on 2 September 1942. In 1944 she was reclassified as a patrol craft and renamed PC-1588.

USS <i>Excel</i> (AM-94) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Excel (AM-94) was an Adroit-class minesweeper of the United States Navy. Laid down on 19 December 1941 by the Jakobson Shipyard, Inc., Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, launched on 10 May 1942, and commissioned on 11 December 1942. The ship was reclassified as a submarine chaser, PC-1598 on 1 June 1944.

USS Exploit (AM-95) was an Adroit-class minesweeper of the United States Navy. Laid down on 11 May 1942 by the Jakobson Shipyard, Inc., Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, launched on 7 September 1942, and commissioned on 5 February 1943. The ship was reclassified as a submarine chaser, PC-1599, 1 June 1944, and reclassified again as a control submarine chaser, PCC-1599, 20 August 1945.

USS <i>Fleming</i> (DE-32)

The second USS Fleming (DE-32), and first ship of the name to enter service, was an Evarts-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. While performing convoy and escort duty in the Pacific Ocean she was also able to sink one Japanese submarine and to shoot down several kamikaze planes that intended to crash onto her. For her military prowess under battle conditions, she was awarded four battle stars.

USS <i>Wileman</i> Evarts-class destroyer escort

USS Wileman (DE-22) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. It was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. At the end of the war, she returned to the United States proudly displaying four battle stars.

USS <i>Wintle</i> (DE-25) Evarts-class destroyer escort

USS Wintle (DE-25) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. By the time she returned to the United States at the end of the war she had been awarded three battle stars.

USS <i>Martin</i> (DE-30) Evarts-class destroyer escort

USS Martin (DE-30) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. The vessel entered service in 1943 and spent its entire career in the Pacific Ocean. Following the surrender of Japan, Martin returned to the United States and by the end of 1945, was slated for scrapping, which began in 1946.

USS <i>Manlove</i>

USS Manlove (DE-36) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed dangerous work in numerous battle areas, and was awarded five battle stars.

USS <i>Dionne</i>

USS Dionne (DE-261) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and antisubmarine operations in dangerous battle areas and returned home with six battle stars, a high number for a ship of her type.

USS <i>McConnell</i> Cannon-class destroyer escort

USS McConnell (DE-163) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She was awarded three battle stars.

USS <i>Bangust</i> Cannon-class destroyer escort

USS Bangust was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. In 1952, she was sold to Peru, where she served as BAP Castilla (D-61). She was decommissioned and scrapped in 1979.

USS <i>Silverstein</i> John C. Butler-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy

USS Silverstein (DE-534) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1947 and from 1951 to 1958. She was sold for scrapping in 1973.

USS PC-1145, later USS Winnemucca (PC-1145), was a United States Navy PC-461-class submarine chaser in commission from 1944 to 1955. In 1960, she was transferred to South Korea for service in the Republic of Korea Navy.

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 PC-1230 was a Patrol Craft, laid down in 1942, participating in escort and convoy missions in the Pacific in World War II, and performed harbor control duties during the Battle of Peleliu.

USS <i>PC-598</i>

The USS PC-598 was a 173ft metal hulled PC-461-class submarine chaser in the United States Navy. The submarine chaser fought in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, and was converted to an amphibious landing control vessel during the war, reclassified as a Patrol Craft-Control (PCC). It participated in six amphibious invasions as a control vessel during the war.

References

  1. ↑ "1942 – the U. S. Navy's Sub Chaser Training Center (SCTC) at Pier 2 at the Port of Miami". www.pbase.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Douglas, Kirk, LTJG". www.navy.togetherweserved.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  3. ↑ Kirk Douglas, WWII Navy vet, Hollywood star, dead at 103, Hillel Italie, The Associated Press, 2020-02-06

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.