The ''PC-461''-class submarine chasers were a class of 343

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War I ...

s constructed mainly for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and built from 1941 to 1944. The ''PC-461''s were based primarily on two experimental submarine chasers, ''PC-451'' and '' PC-452''. While ''PC-461'' began the series, the first of the class to enter service was ''PC-471''. As part of the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

program, 46 ships of this class were transferred to allies of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Fifty-nine ''PC-461''s were converted to other types of patrol vessels. Eight vessels of this class were lost, and one vessel was lost after conversion to a . Only one of the class, USS ''PC-566'' commanded by Lieutenant Commander (later Captain) Herbert G. Claudius, actually sank a submarine, , during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

; however, the website 'Patrol Craft Sailors Association' cites ''PC-461''-class ships sinking or assisting sinking up to 6 German and Japanese subs. PC-461 submarine chasers were used in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. Numerous PC-461 class vessels were used to aid in amphibious assaults, including the Normandy invasion. One member of this class, , was one of only two ships in the US Navy during World War II that had a mostly African-American crew.

Lend-Lease program

As part of the Lend-Lease program enacted by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, a total of 46 ''PC-461''s were lent to allies of the United States. Thirty-two were sent to France, 10+ (3 to cannibalized for spare parts and 1 to private owner -George Simmonuti- as yacht in 1967) to Venezuela, 8 to Brazil, 1 to Uruguay, 1 to Norway, 1 to the Netherlands, and 1 to Greece.

Post-WWII importance

Following the end of World War II, many ''PC-461''-class ships were placed into reserve squadrons or brought out of active service. Many more however were furnished to American allies around the world, most notably the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

. The first vessel to join the new ROK Navy was former , transferred to the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy ...

and renamed (PC-701). The vessel played a major part in the Battle of Korea Strait, the small naval battle fought on the first day of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

in June 1950. Six transferred to the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Por ...

in 1949 under the MDAP (''Mutual Defense and Assistance Program'') PC-812 as NRP ''Maio'', PC-811 as NRP ''Madeira'', PC-1257 as NRP ''Santiago'', PC-809 as ''NRP Sal'', PC-1256 as NRP ''São Tomé'' and PC-1259 as NRP ''São Vicente''. Five were transferred to the

Indonesian Navy The Indonesian Navy ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, , Indonesian National Military-Naval Force, TNI-AL) is the naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol In ...

in 1958 and 1960 under the Mutual Assistance Program. PC-1141 as KRI ''Tjakalang'', PC-1183 as KRI ''Tenggiri'', PC-581 as KRI ''Torani'', PC-580 as KRI ''Hiu'', and PC-787 as KRI ''Alu-Alu''.

Conversions

Twenty-four ''PC-461''s were converted to patrol gunboats, motor (PGM) and 35 were converted into amphibious control craft (PCC). Eighteen were completed as s (AM) but their performance as such was judged to be unsatisfactory and they were converted back to the PC configuration.

Construction

* (all) (341) ** ... (36) ** ... (86) ** ... (50) ** ... (15) ** ... (31) ** ... (99) ** ... (24) ** ... (18) (see ) *

Defoe Shipbuilding Company The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is ...

, MI (56) ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... * Consolidated Shipbuilding, NY (51) ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... *

Commercial Iron Works Commercial Iron Works was a manufacturing firm in Portland, Oregon, United States. Established in 1916, the company is best remembered today for its contribution to America's Emergency Shipbuilding Program during World War II. The company was f ...

, OR (43) ** ... ** ... ** For ... , see * Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding, WI (42) ** , , ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... * George Lawley & Son, MA (23) ** ... ** ... ** ... * Luders Marine Construction Company, CT (22) ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... * Albina Engine & Machine Works, OR (21) ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... *

Dravo Corporation Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh in 1891. The corporation went public in 1936 and in 1998 it was bought out by Carmeuse for $1 ...

(20) **

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

*** ... *** *** ... *** ... **

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

*** ... * Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation, NY (16) ** , ** ... ** ... ** ... * Gibbs Gas Engine Works, FL (14) ** ... ** ... *

Nashville Bridge Company Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, TN (14) ** ... ** ... ** , (see ) *

Brown Shipbuilding The Brown Shipbuilding Company was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1942 as a subsidiary of Brown and Root (now KBR) by brothers Herman and George R. Brown to build ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Brown Shipbuilding Company ranked 6 ...

, TX (12) ** ... ** ... ** ... * Jeffboat, IN (8) ** ... ** ...

Engines

* 2 x 1,440bhp Fairbanks Morse 38D8 1/8 diesel engines, Westinghouse reduction gear (63) ** 461 ... 470, 483 ... 487, 563 ... 572, 578 ... 582, 600 ... 603, 616 ... 619 ** 1077 ... 1082, 1176 ... 1180, 1231 ... 1236, 1251 .. 1254, 1260 ... 1263 ** (serial numbers listed in navsource.org reference) * 2 x 1,440bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines,

Farrel-Birmingham The Farrel Corporation is an American manufacturing company based in Ansonia, Connecticut. Today, they manufacture process equipment for the plastics industry, and employ roughly 100 people. History Farrel was founded in 1848 as a foundry by A ...

single reduction gear (88) ** 471 ... 482, 496, 542 ... 562, 583 ... 591, 596 ... 599, 604 ... 607, 620 ... 627 ** 1119 ... 1139, 1225 ... 1230, 1241, 1242 ** serial numbers listed * 2 x 1,440bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesel engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear (111) ** 488 ... 495, 573 ... 577, 592 ... 595, 608 ... 615, 776 ... 789, 791 ... 795 ** 799 ... 804, 807, 810, 813 ... 822, 825, 1181 ... 1184, 1186, 1187, 1190 .. 1217 ** 1219 ... 1224, 1237 ... 1240, 1256 ... 1259, 1265 ** 1201, 1211, 1213, 1216 listed as having no reduction gear ** serial numbers in reference * 2 x 1,280bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler RB-99DA diesel engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear (18) ** 790, 796 ... 798, 805, 806, 808, 809, 811, 812, 823, 824, 1185, 1188, 1189, 1218, 1255, 1264 * 4 x 1,440bhp 6-cylinder ALCO 540 diesel engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear (3) ** 1083 ... 1085 ** obviously a mistake has been made there. Conway's All the worlds fighting ships even lists 1084 as a representative member and gives it only 2 engines * 2 x 1,440bhp General Motors 16-278A diesel engines,

single reduction gear (57) ** 1086 ... 1091, 1140 ... 1149, 1167 ... 1175, 1243 ... 1250, 1546 ... 1569 ** listed as having Westinghouse gears: 1165

Citations

References

* Friedman, Norman (1987). ''US Small Combatants, Including PT-Boats, Subchasers, and the Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History'' {{PC-461 class submarine chaser Submarine chaser classes Ship classes of the French Navy