A city in Florida, the first settlement of colonists from Europe to be established in territory now a part of the United States. |
(PG-54: dp. 1,720 (f.); l. 272'2"; b. 36'; dph. 15'11"; dr. 14'6"; s. 14 k.; cpl. 185; a. 2 3")
Gunboat St. Augustine (PG-54), was built in 1929 as yacht, Viking, for George F. Baker by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; she was later sold to Norman B. Woolworth who renamed her Noparo. The ship was purchased by the Navy on 5 December 1940 at New London, Conn.; converted at Bethlehem Steel Corp., Boston, Mass.; was renamed St. Augustine on 9 January 1941, and commissioned on 16 January 1941.
She was assigned to the 1st Naval District and operated on patrol out of Boston until 1942 when she was transferred to the Eastern Sea Frontier, for which she escorted convoys between New York and various Caribbean ports.
St. Augustine got underway from New York on 6 January 1944, leading a convoy of ships bound for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Late that evening, when southeast of Cape May, N.J., she was rammed amidships by the merchant tanker, Camas Meadows. Her seams were split by the collision, and the gunboat sank in five minutes. The rough, wintry seas claimed 115 of her crew; only 30 survived.
On the morning of 6 January 1944, St. Augustine steamed out of New York leading a small convoy, consisting of the tanker Tydol Gas, and the Coast Guard cutters Argo and Thetis, bound for Jacksonville, Fla. The tanker Camas Meadows had left the Delaware Capes bound for Trinidad. Both ships were running without navigation lights, but the St. Augustine had picked up tanker on radar. As the ships closed to within 3 miles, St. Augustine signalled Camas Meadows by Aldis lamp; however, the crew of Camas Meadows feared a ploy by a marauding U-boat. Misjudging the speed of Camas Meadows, St. Augustine turned hard to port and went to full speed in an attempt to cross ahead of the tanker's bow, but was struck hard amidships. St. Augustine sank 73 miles south- southwest of Cape May, New Jersey, 38°01'N, 74°05'W.]
Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Patrick Clancey, HyperWar Foundation