USS ''Natchez'' (PG-102/PF-2) was a (known as an ''Asheville''-class

patrol frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

in U.S. service) acquired by the

U.S. 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 of ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was originally ordered and laid down as HMS ''Annan'' for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and renamed as HMCS ''Annan'' for the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

before transfer to the U.S. Navy before launch. She was used for anti-submarine patrol work during the war. Post-war, she was decommissioned and ended up in the hands of the

Dominican Navy The Navy of the Dominican Republic ( es, Armada de Republica Dominicana (ARD)), is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force. History After the Dominican Republic gained i ...

as ''Juan Pablo Duarte'' in 1947, but ran aground and taken out of service in 1949. In 1950 she was sold to

Puerto Rica Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

n engineer Félix Benítez as a private yacht. The ship was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

in 1959.

Career

''Natchez'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 16 March 1942 by

Canadian Vickers Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. C ...

Ltd.,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada as HMS ''Annan'', later designated as HMCS ''Annan''. Due to a lack of American patrol vessels she was transferred to the U.S. Navy on 20 July 1942. Launched on 12 September 1942, she was named USS ''Natchez'' (PG-102) on 8 October 1942 and commissioned at

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

on 16 December 1942. ''Natchez'' sailed under escort to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

16 January 1943 for fitting out. On 1 March she reported for duty to Commander

Eastern Sea Frontier The Eastern Sea Frontier (EASTSEAFRON) was a United States Navy operational command during World War II, that was responsible for the coastal waters from Canada to Jacksonville, Florida, extending out for a nominal distance of two hundred miles. T ...

and was assigned escort duty for merchant convoys between Cuba and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. ''Natchez'' was redesignated as PF-2 on 15 April 1943. On 4 December, Cuban freighter was reported missing from her convoy off the southern Atlantic coast. ''Natchez'' with several other patrol vessels, was dispatched to the scene, guided by homing signals from Navy

blimps A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...

. ''Natchez'' found only three survivors who reported that their ship had been

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed and had sunk before they could notify the convoy commander. Through 1944 ''Natchez'' escorted convoys and performed

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrol duties. While on convoy duty 29 April 1945, she simultaneously received a

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

contact and sighted the snorkel of German submarine U-879, east of

Cape Henry, Virginia Cape Henry is a cape (geography), cape on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake ...

. Launching an immediate attack, she was quickly joined by three

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

s: , and .

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

s and

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s were used as the four vessels sought to trap the enemy

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

. Finally contact was lost and a large quantity of oil was seen to rise to the surface, indicating destruction of the U-boat. At the end of the war ''Natchez'' was still patrolling in the Atlantic. She returned to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

on 29 June 1945 for inactivation and disposal. She was delivered to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

, 19 November 1945 for disposal. She was sold, 29 July 1947 to Louis Moore of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida then resold on 19 March 1948 to the Dominican Republic as ''Juan Pablo Duarte'' (F102). She ran aground at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in November 1949 and taken out of service due to damage. She was then sold to Félix Benítez, a Puerto Rican engineer, who repaired her and converted her to his personal

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

''Moineau''. She was

in 1959.

References

External links

NavSource Online Patrol Frigate Photo Archive - Natchez (PF 2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natchez (PF-2) Asheville-class frigates Ships built in Montreal 1942 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Dominican Navy River-class frigates of the Dominican Navy Individual yachts Maritime incidents in September 1944