USS St. Augustine (PG-54) was built in 1929 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport News, Virginia. She was originally a steel-hulled yacht named Viking and later named Noparo.[2][3] She was purchased by the US Navy on 5 December 1940 and was sent to Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Boston, Massachusetts where she was converted into a patrol gunboat. She was named St. Augustine on 9 January 1941 and commissioned as USS St. Augustine on 16 January 1941.[2][3]
 USS St. Augustine
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS St. Augustine |
| Namesake | St. Augustine, Florida |
| Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA |
| Cost | $1,250,000[1] |
| Acquired | 5 December 1940 |
| Commissioned | 16 January 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk in collision 6 January 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Gunboat |
| Displacement | 1,720 long tons (1,748 t) (full) |
| Length | 272 ft 2 in (82.96 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement | 185 |
| Armament | 2 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns |
St. Augustine was assigned to the 1st Naval District and operated out of Boston as a patrol ship until 1942.[3][4] She was transferred to the Eastern Sea Frontier where she escorted convoys between New York City and various Caribbean ports.[3][4] On the night of 6 January 1944, while leading a convoy from New York to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, St. Augustine was accidentally rammed by merchant tanker Camas Meadows off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey.[2][4] St. Augustine foundered within five minutes, and 115 of the 145 crewmembers on board were killed.[3]
References
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