USS Rockford (PF-48)
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USS ''Rockford'' (PF-48), a in commission from 1944 to 1945, thus far has been the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for
Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
. She later served in the Soviet Navy as ''EK-18'' and in the Republic of Korea Navy as ROKS ''Apnokkang'' (62).


Construction and commissioning

Originally classified as a patrol gunboat, PG-156, ''Rockford'' was reclassified as a patrol frigate, PF-48, on 15 April 1943. She was laid down on 28 August 1943, by
Consolidated Steel Corporation Consolidated Steel Corporation (formed 18 December 1928) was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created in 1929 by the merg ...
in Los Angeles, California, launched on 27 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Harry L. Crotzer, and commissioned on 6 March 1944.


Service history


U.S. Navy, World War II, 1944–1945

Following
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 Los Angeles, ''Rockford'', manned by a United States Coast Guard crew, reported to the United States Pacific Fleet and got underway on 25 June 1944 for the Southwest Pacific. On 2 July 1944 she attacked a
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 ...
ese
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 ...
with
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, doing some damage. She made a second antisubmarine attack with Hedgehogs antisubmarine mortars on 7 July 1945. Continuing her voyage, she proceeded via Espiritu Santo to
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, arriving at
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, Queensland, on 23 July 1944. On 2 August 1944, ''Rockford'' moored in
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, and then operated on convoy escort duty and antisubmarine patrol off the New Guinea coast until 23 September 1944, when she made a brief run to Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands. ''Rockford'' then returned to New Guinea, remaining there until 15 October 1944, when she began a voyage to the United States West Coast via Manus Island and Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. On 13 November 1944, during the final leg of the voyage, ''Rockford'' and the minesweeper attacked and sank the Japanese
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 ...
''I-12'' midway between Hawaii and California; there were no survivors from ''I-12''. In sinking ''I-12'', ''Rockford'' and ''Ardent'' unwittingly had avenged the crew of the Liberty Ship SS ''John A. Johnson''; on 30 October 1944, after sinking ''John A. Johnson'', ''I-12'' had rammed and sunk her lifeboats and rafts and then machine-gunned her 70 survivors, killing 10. On 17 November 1944, ''Rockford'' arrived on the U.S. West Coast for scheduled repairs. After their completion, she reported for duty on 4 January 1945 to Commander,
Alaskan Sea Frontier Sea Frontiers were several, now disestablished, commands of the United States Navy as areas of defense against enemy vessels, especially submarines, along the U.S. coasts. They existed from 1 July 1941 until in some cases the 1970s. Sea Frontiers ...
, for duty in the waters of the Territory of Alaska and the North Pacific, operating until August 1945 from Dutch Harbor, Cold Bay, and
Adak Adak may refer to: Places *Adak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands ** Adak, Alaska, a town on the above island ** Adak Airport, airport serving the town ***Adak Army Airfield, original name of the airport (1942–c.1943) *** Davis Army Airfield, ...
as pilot vessel for the group. 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 anticipation of the Soviet Union joining the war against Japan – ''Rockford'' began training her new Soviet crew at Cold Bay in August 1945.Russell, Richard A., ''Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan'', Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, , p. 39.


Soviet Navy, 1945–1949

Following the completion of training for her Soviet crew, ''Rockford'' was decommissioned on 26 August 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 ...
s , , , , and . Commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately, ''Rockford'' was designated as a ''storozhevoi korabl'' ("escort ship") and renamed ''EK-18'' in Soviet service. She soon departed Cold Bay bound for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Soviet Union, where she 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 for use during World War II. 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-18'' among them. Negotiations for the return of the ships were protracted, but on 1 November 1949 the Soviet Union finally returned ''EK-18'' 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 ...
.


Republic of Korea Navy, 1950–1952

Reverting to her original name, ''Rockford'' lay idle in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...
at Yokosuka until the United States loaned her to the Republic of Korea on 23 October 1950 for Korean War service in enforcing the United Nations blockade against North Korea and harassing enemy forces. She served the Republic of Korea Navy as ROKS ''Apnok'' (62). On 21 May 1952, she was escorting the U.S. Navy
ammunition ship An ammunition ship is an auxiliary ship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for naval ships and aircraft. An ammunition ship's cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks bet ...
when ''Mount Baker'' struck her amidships, killing 25 and injuring 21 of ''Apnok''s crew. The collision damaged ''Apnok'' beyond economical repair.United States Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Korean War: Chronology of U.S. Pacific Fleet Operations, May 1952
/ref> South Korea returned her to the U.S. Navy on 3 September 1952 for disposal.


Disposal

Reverting to her original name and assigned a status of "inactive out of commission in reserve" by the U.S. Navy, ''Rockford'' was struck from the Navy list on 26 May 1953 and sunk as a torpedo
target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
on 30 September 1953.


Awards

The U.S. Navy awarded ''Rockford'' two battle stars for her World War II service.


References

*


External links

*
hazegray.org: USS ''Rockford''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockford (PF-48) Tacoma-class frigates Ships built in Los Angeles 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 Republic of Korea Navy Korean War frigates of South Korea Maritime incidents in 1952 Maritime incidents in 1953 Ships sunk as targets Ships transferred under Project Hula