USS Davenport (PF-69), a Tacoma-class frigate, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Davenport, Iowa.
.jpg) USS Davenport (PF 69), commissioning program photo.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Davenport |
| Namesake | City of Davenport, Iowa |
| Builder | Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin |
| Launched | 8 December 1943 |
| Commissioned | 15 February 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 4 February 1946 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 6 June 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Tacoma-class frigate |
| Displacement | 1,264 long tons (1,284 t) |
| Length | 303 ft 11 in (92.63 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 215 |
| Armament |
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Construction
editDavenport (PF-69), originally classified as PG-177, was launched on 8 December 1943, by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, under a Maritime Commission contract, sponsored by Mrs. E. Frick; transferred to the Navy on 1 June 1944, and placed in service the same day; placed out of service for additional work a week later; and commissioned in full on 15 February 1945, with a crew of 215 USCG officers and enlisted men.
Service history
editDeparting Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 April 1945, Davenport joined Pert (PG-95) and Action (PG-86) for an anti-submarine patrol off Casco Bay. She returned to New York on 24 April, and three days later got underway to escort a convoy to Mers El Kébir, Algeria, returning to Norfolk on 7 June. Two days later she entered the Navy Yard at Charleston, South Carolina, for conversion to a weather ship. This involved removing the number three 3-inch (76 mm) gun and installing in its place a hangar used to house meteorological equipment and to inflate and launch weather balloons.
Davenport stood out from Charleston on 26 June 1945, and on 1 July took station off NS Argentia, Newfoundland to report meteorological data. She remained on this duty until 21 October aside from the period 6 August to 21 during which she towed SC-705 to Reykjavík, Iceland. Arriving at Boston Navy Yard 25 October, Davenport remained there until decommissioned on 4 February 1946. She was sold 6 June 1946.
References
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This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
edit- Photo gallery of USS Davenport at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Davenport
- grobbel.org: USS Davenport (PF-69) – WW II Patrol Frigate