USS ''PC-1261'' was a built for 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 ...

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 opposing ...

. She was the first ship sunk during the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 1944, when she was hit by shellfire from German shore batteries.

Career

''PC-1261'' was laid down on 20 November 1942 by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company in

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,646 at the 2020 Census. The city is well-known regionally for being the largest city of the Door Peninsula, after which the county is n ...

and launched on 28 February 1943. She was commissioned in May 1943 and was sent to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and participated in the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

. On 6 June 1944, ''PC-1261'' led the first wave of landing craft at

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

. While ''en route'' to the beach, she was struck by an artillery shell and foundered. She was the first ship sunk on D-Day.

External links

USS PC-1261 (PC-1261)Chester County Hall of Heroes: John L. Maguire
PC-461-class submarine chasers Ships built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 1943 ships World War II patrol vessels of the United States World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in June 1944 Ships sunk by coastal artillery {{US-mil-ship-stub