USS ''Poughkeepsie'' (PF-26), a in commission from 1944 to 1945, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Poughkeepsie, New York. She later served in the Soviet Navy as ''EK-27'' and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS ''Momi'' (PF-4), JDS ''Momi'' (PF-284), and as ''YAC-13''.

Construction and commissioning

Originally classified as a patrol gunboat, PG-134, ''Poughkeepsie'' was reclassified as a patrol frigate, PF-26, on 15 April 1943. She was laid down for the Maritime Commission on 3 June 1943, by the

Walter Butler Shipbuilding Company Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was a large-scale World War II ship manufacturing shipyard, located at Superior, Wisconsin. Walter Butler purchased the shipyard from Lake Superior Shipbuilding in 1942. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was at ...

, Inc., in

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

, Wisconsin, and launched on 12 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Frank M. Doran. The ship was transferred to the US Navy and ' commissioned on 6 September 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, ...

off Bermuda, ''Poughkeepsie'' called at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for post-shakedown repairs from 29 October 1944 through 31 January 1945. During February and March 1945, she made one convoy escort run to

Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay ( es, Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off ...

, Cuba. Then, after anti-submarine warfare training in the New London Operating Area off New London, Connecticut, at the end of March 1945, she commenced antisubmarine patrols and convoy escort duties along the United States East Coast, operating between New York City and Norfolk, Virginia, through 3 July 1945. Selected for transfer to the Soviet Navy in Project Hula, a secret program for the transfer of U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay in the Territory of Alaska in anticipation of the Soviet Union joining the war against Japan, ''Poughkeepsie'' stood out of

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

on 9 July 1945, transited the Panama Canal, reported to Commander, United States Pacific Fleet, for duty, and put in at Seattle, Washington, for repairs and alterations in preparation for her transfer. Upon completion of these, she proceeded to Cold Bay and soon began the training of her new Soviet crew.

Soviet Navy, 1945–1949

Following the completion of training for her Soviet crew, ''Poughkeepsie'' was decommissioned on 2 September 1945 at Cold Bay and transferred to the Soviet Union under

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, ...

immediately along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

. Commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately, ''Poughkeepsie'' was designated as a ''storozhevoi korabl'' ("escort ship") and renamed ''EK-27'' in Soviet service. She soon departed Cold Bay bound for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Soviet Union. Too late for World War II service with the Soviet Navy, ''EK-27'' served as a patrol vessel in the Soviet Far East. In February 1946, the United States began negotiations for the return of ships loaned to the Soviet Union. On 8 May 1947, United States Secretary of the Navy

James V. Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-class Irish Catholic fami ...

informed the United States Department of State that the United States Department of the Navy wanted 480 of the 585 combatant ships it had transferred to the Soviet Union for World War II use returned, ''EK-27'' among them. Negotiations for the return of the ships were protracted, but on 31 October 1949 the Soviet Union finally returned ''EK-27'' to the U.S. Navy at Yokosuka,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine, 1951

Reverting to her original name, ''Poughkeepsie'' remained at Yokosuka in an inactive status until nominated for transfer to the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine The Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine (SCAJAP) was an organization established by Allied forces in the occupation of Japan after the end of World War II. Purpose # control over all ships greater than 100 gross tons oper ...

on 23 March 1951 for duty as a

weather ship A weather ship, or ocean station vessel, was a ship stationed in the ocean for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, reportin ...

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, 1953-1969

The United States loaned the ship to Japan on 14 January 1953 for use in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, which renamed her . ''Momi'' was redesignated PF-284 on 1 September 1957. The U.S. Navy struck her from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1961 and transferred her to Japan outright on 28 August 1962. Decommissioned on 1 April 1965, ''Momi'' was reclassified as an "auxiliary stock craft" (YAC), renamed ''YAC-13'', and used thereafter as a non-operable dockside training ship until early 1969, when she was transferred to South Korea to be cannibalized for spare parts for the Republic of Korea Navys ''Tacoma''-class frigates.

References

External links

*
hazegray.org: USS ''Poughkeepsie''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poughkeepsie (PF-26) Tacoma-class frigates Ships built in Superior, Wisconsin 1943 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Tacoma-class frigates of the Soviet Navy World War II frigates of the Soviet Union Cold War frigates of the Soviet Union Tacoma-class frigates of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tacoma-class frigates of the Republic of Korea Navy Ships transferred under Project Hula