USS Eugene, PF-40
A city in Oregon.
Builder: Consolidated Steel Corp., Wilmington, CA
Length: 303' 11"
Beam: 37' 6"
Draft: 12' 8" fl
Displacement: 2,230 tons
Propulsion: 2-shaft VTE, 3 boilers
Range: 9,500 nm at 12 knots
Top speed: 20 knots Complement: 190
Armament: 3 x 3"/50; 4 x 40mm (2x2); 9 x 20mm; 1 x Hedgehog, 8 x depth charge projectors; 2 x depth charge racks. For those frigates fitted out for weather patrol duty, the after 3-inch gun was removed and a weather balloon hanger was added aft.
History:
Eugene (PF - 40) was launched by Consolidated Steel Corp., Wilmington, CA, on 6 July 1943 and was sponsored by Mrs. Frank D. Cross. She was commissioned on 15 January 1944, and CDR C. R. MacLean, USCG, was given command. Following her shakedown cruise, Eugene, who was manned by a Coast Guard crew, stood out of San Francisco en route to the southwestern Pacific. Arriving off the coast of Australia in late June 1944 she engaged in antisubmarine patrol off New Guinea and the Philippines, transported personnel, bombarded the shore at Soepiori Island, but principally escorted convoys among the islands of the area. In December 1944 she returned to the United States for overhaul. She returned briefly to convoy duty until 25 May 1945 when she was converted to a weather ship, and performed this duty until arriving at Charleston, S.C., for decommissioning on 12 June 1946. Eugene was stricken from the Navy List on 19 July1946. Eugene received two battle stars for World War II service.
Sources:
The Coast Guard At War, Transports and Escorts, Vol. V, No. 1.
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1992, pp. 148-149.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. II, p. 372-373.