USS ''El Paso'' (PF-41) was a crewed by the
United States Coast Guard for the
United States Navy. She was named after
El Paso, a city situated in Western
Texas and along the border with
New Mexico and the
Mexican state
The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...
of
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
.
''El Paso'' was launched on 16 July 1943 at
Consolidated Steel Corporation, Ltd., in
Wilmington, California, under a
Maritime Commission contract, sponsored by Mrs. J. L. Kaster; and commissioned on 1 December 1943.
Service history
Sailing from
San Diego, California, on 20 February 1944, ''El Paso'' arrived at
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...
,
New Guinea, on 4 April after training at
Pearl Harbor and
convoy escort duty to the
Gilberts and
Espiritu Santo en route. The frigate patrolled in the New Guinea area, and carried out several bombardment missions. On 25 May she shelled enemy positions at
Maffin Bay, and 2 days later in company with two
destroyer escorts,
bombarded Wakde Island. On the night of 14 June she provided fire support at
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 18,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the ...
, and on the 25th blasted the edge of the airfield on
Wakde Island. The next mission was a combination
scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
,
salvage
Salvage may refer to:
* Marine salvage, the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo and sometimes the crew from peril
* Water salvage, rescuing people from floods.
* Salvage tug, a type of tugboat used to rescue or salvage ships which are in dis ...
, and
rescue work at
Pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
and
Fanildo Island
Mapia Atoll (Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Mapia''), historically known as the Freewill Islands or San David, is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is located in Papua province of Indonesia, approximately 290 kilometers north of the city of Manok ...
s on 25 August.
In September 1944, ''El Paso'' joined the screen of the forces landing at
Morotai
Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands.
Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...
, then operated between this newly won base and New Guinea during the buildup for the invasion of the
Philippines. On 29 October, nine days after the initial landings, ''El Paso'' arrived at
Leyte for patrol and screen duty. She returned to New Guinea in November to bombard
Sarmi Point Sarmi may refer to:
Places
* Sarmi, Nepal, a village in Nepal
* Sarmi, Indonesia, a town in Papua, Indonesia
* Sarmi Regency, an administrative unit in Papua, Indonesia
People
*Massimo Sarmi (born 1948), Italian businessman
*Count Ferdinando Sarm ...
and
Mount Makko on the 11th, then was assigned to escort duty between New Guinea and the Philippines until the year's end.
''El Paso'' departed
Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...
(
Hollandia Hollandia may refer to:
* HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team
* Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team
* ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage
* Jayapura, a city ...
) on 6 January 1945, and sailed to New York for overhaul during which she was converted to a weather ship. Her conversion was interrupted by a convoy escort voyage to
Oran, Algeria, in April and May 1945.
When
World War II ended, the frigate was on the way back to the
Pacific, and arriving at Leyte on 23 September, served as a weather station ship in the Philippines until 16 April 1946. She returned to the west coast, was decommissioned at
Seattle, Washington, on 18 July 1946, and sold on 14 October 1947.
''El Paso'' received Five
battle stars for
World War II service.
Sources
* ''The Coast Guard at War, Transports and Escorts'', Vol. V, No. 1.
* ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946''. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1992, pp. 148–149.
* USCG Home Website
*, Vol. II, pp. 345–346.
External links
*
hazegray.org: USS ''El Paso''
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Paso (PF-41)
Tacoma-class frigates
World War II patrol vessels of the United States
USS El Paso (PF-41)
Ships built in Los Angeles
1943 ships
Weather ships