USS ''Sandusky'' (PF-54), a in commission from 1944 to 1945, was the second

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 ...

ship of the name and the first to be named for Sandusky, Ohio. She later served in the Soviet Navy as ''EK-7'' 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 ''Nire'' (PF-7), ''Nire'' (PF-287) and as ''YAC-19''.

Construction and commissioning

''Sandusky'', originally classified as a "patrol

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

," PG-162, was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-54 on 15 April 1943.

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 8 July 1943, under a

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contract by Froemming Brothers, Inc., in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

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, she was launched on 5 October 1943, sponsored by Miss Mabel Apel, and commissioned on 18 April 1944 at

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Louisiana, with

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

Thomas R. Sargent III Thomas Reece Sargent III (December 20, 1914 – May 29, 2010) was a vice admiral and Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. Biography Sargent was born on December 20, 1914 in London, England. He became a naturalized citizen of the ...

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, in command.

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, ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and overhaul at

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, ''Sandusky'' departed for the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

on 18 August 1944, escorting a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

from

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Finschhafen Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U.S ...

and Hollandia,

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. After completing the long convoy voyage on 2 October 1944, she proceeded to Morotai, conducting anti-submarine patrols there for the rest of the month. From November 1944 through February 1945, she escorted convoys between Hollandia and

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

in the

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in support of U.S. troops occupying the

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. After escorting a convoy to Lingayen Gulf at

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in the Philippines, she departed from Leyte on 8 March 1945 for

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, Washington (state), Washington. Following wikt:overhaul, overhaul, ''Machias'' proceeded to Kodiak, Alaska, Kodiak in the Territory of Alaska. Earmarked for transfer to the Soviet Navy in Project Hula, a secret program for the transfer of U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy in anticipation of the Soviet Union joining the Pacific War, war against Japan, ''Sandusky'' joined her sister ships , , , , , , , and in getting underway from Kodiak on 13 June 1945 bound for Cold Bay, Alaska, Cold Bay, Alaska, where they arrived on 14 June 1945 to enter Project Hula. Training of ''Sanduksy''s new Soviet Navy crew soon began at Cold Bay.

Soviet Navy, 1945–1949

''Sandusky'' was Ship decommissioning, decommissioned on 12 July 1945 at Cold Bay and transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease immediately along with nine of her sister ships, the first group of patrol frigates transferred to the Soviet Navy. Commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately, ''Sandusky'' was designated as a ''storozhevoi korabl'' ("escort ship") and renamed ''EK-7'' in Soviet service. On 15 July 1945, ''EK-7'' departed Cold Bay in company with nine of her sister ships – ''EK-1'' (ex-''Charlottesville''), ''EK-2'' (ex-''Long Beach''), ''EK-3'' (ex-''Belfast''), ''EK-4'' (ex-''Machias''), ''EK-5'' (ex-''San Pedro''), ''EK-6'' (ex-''Glendale''), ''EK-8'' (ex-''Coronado''), ''EK-9'' (ex-''Allentown''), and ''EK-10'' (ex-) – bound for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Soviet Union. ''EK-7'' 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 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-7'' among them. Negotiations for the return of the ships were protracted, but on 15 October 1949 the Soviet Union finally returned ''EK-7'' to the U.S. Navy at United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Yokosuka, Japan.Russell, Richard A., ''Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan'', Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, , pp. 37–38, 39.

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, 1953–1970

Reverting to her original name, ''Sandusky'' lay idle in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Yokosuka until the United States loaned her to Japan on 26 February 1953 for service in the

as . ''Nire'' was redesignated PF-287 on 1 September 1957. The United States struck her from the Navy list on 1 December 1961 and transferred her outright to Japan on 28 August 1962. In 1969, she was reclassified as an "auxiliary stock craft" (YAC) and renamed ''YAC-19''. Japan returned her to the United States on 31 March 1970 for disposal.

Awards

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

References

External links

*
hazegray.org: USS ''Sandusky''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandusky (PF-54) Tacoma-class frigates Ships built in Milwaukee 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 Ships transferred under Project Hula