USS ''Everett'' (PG-116/PF-8), a

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 commission from 1944 to 1945 and from 1950 to 1953, thus far has been the only ship of the

United States 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 ...

to be named for Everett, Washington. She also served in the Soviet Navy as ''EK-15'' and in the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

as JDS ''Kiri'' (PF-11/PF-291/YAC-20).

Construction and commissioning

Originally classified as a patrol gunboat, PG-116, ''Everett'' was reclassified as a

, PF-8, on 15 April 1943. She 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 ...

under a

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 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1426, at the

Permanente Metals Permanente Metals Corporation (PMC) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California, owned by one of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser's many corporations, and also engaged in related corporate activities. These fou ...

Richmond Shipyard #4,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, California. ''Everett'' was launched on 29 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Cornelia M. Fitch, and was commissioned on 22 January 1944.

Service history

U.S. Navy, World War II, 1944–1945

After

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

and training, ''Everett'' steamed north to Adak,

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

, arriving there on 22 April 1944, and began 16 months of patrol and escort duty in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

. Selected for transfer to the Soviet Navy in

Project Hula Project Hula was a program during World War II in which the United States transferred naval vessels to the Soviet Union in anticipation of the Soviets eventually joining the war against Japan, specifically in preparation for planned Soviet inv ...

– a secret program for the transfer of U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy at

Cold Bay Cold Bay ( ale, Udaamagax,; Sugpiaq: ''Pualu'') is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 108, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 50. Cold Bay is one of the main commercial ...

, Alaska, in anticipation of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

joining the war against Japan – she then proceeded to Cold Bay in the summer of 1945 and began training her new Soviet crew.

Soviet Navy, 1945–1949

Following the completion of training for her Soviet crew, ''Everett'' was decommissioned on 16 August 1945 at Cold Bay and transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease immediately along with her sister ships , , , , and . Commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately, ''Everett'' was designated as a ''storozhevoi korabl'' ("escort ship") and renamed ''EK-15'' in Soviet service. She soon departed Cold Bay bound for

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultu ...

in the Soviet Union, where she served as a patrol vessel in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

. In February 1946, the United States began negotiations for the return of ships loaned to the Soviet Union for use during World War II. On 8 May 1947,

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

James V. Forrestal informed the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

that the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

wanted 480 of the 585 combatant ships it had transferred to the Soviet Union for World War II use returned, ''EK-15'' among them. Negotiations for the return of the ships were protracted, but on 15 November 1949 the Soviet Union finally returned ''EK-15'' to the U.S. Navy at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

, Japan.

U.S. Navy, Korean War, 1950–1953

Reverting to her original name, ''Everett'' was given an extensive

overhaul Overhaul may refer to: *The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul **Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) **Time between overhaul * Overhaul (firefighting), the process of searching for hidden fire extensio ...

at Yokosuka, where she was recommissioned on 26 July 1950, for service during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Assigned to primary duty as

station ship Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, she also joined the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Blockading and Escort Force in operations off both coasts of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. On 3 July 1951, while bombarding Wonsan, North Korea, ''Everett'' was hit by fire from a

shore battery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

; one man was killed and seven were wounded, but damage to the ship was light.

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, 1953–1976

On 10 March 1953, ''Everett'' was decommissioned at Yokosuka and lent to Japan, entering service with the

as . ''Kiri'' was redesignated PF-291 on 1 September 1957. The United States struck her from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

on 1 December 1961. She was reclassified as an "auxiliary stock craft" (YAC) and renamed ''YAC-20'' on 31 March 1970. Decommissioned on 1 October 1975, she was returned to the United States on 22 January 1976 for disposal and subsequently scrapped.

Awards

The US Navy awarded ''Everett'' four

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her Korean War service.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
hazegray.org: USS ''Everett''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Everett (PF-8) Tacoma-class frigates Ships built in Richmond, California 1943 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Everett, Washington Tacoma-class frigates of the Soviet Navy World War II frigates of the Soviet Union Cold War frigates of the Soviet Union Cold War frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Korean War frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Tacoma-class frigates of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships transferred under Project Hula