USS Havre (PCE(C)-877)
The USS Havre (PCE(C)-877) was a United States Navy PCE-842-class patrol craft escort in commission from 14 February 1944 to 1 July 1970. She served in the Central Pacific during World War II, supporting invasions of Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa, and was present in Tokyo Bay for the formal Surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. Unlike other ships from this class, which were scrapped or sold to other nations, the (PCE-877) stayed the property of the United States Navy, who transferred ownership to the United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) in April 1954. She was renamed USS Havre (PCE-877) on 15 February 1956 as part of a Navy-wide initiative to provide names to all numbered ships. The USS Havre served on Great Lakes until struck from Navy list 1 July 1970.
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| History | |
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| Name: | USS Havre (PCE-877) |
| Builder: | Albina, Portland Willamette Iron & Steel |
| Laid down: | 6 May 1943, as PCE-877 |
| Launched: | 11 August 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 14 February 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 July 1970 |
| Renamed: | USS Havre (PCE-877), 15 February 1956 |
| Reclassified: |
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| Stricken: | 1 July 1970 |
| Fate: | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | PCE-842 class patrol craft escort |
| Displacement: | 903 tons |
| Length: | 184' 6" (56.08m) |
| Beam: | 33' 1" (10.05m) |
| Draft: | 9' 5" (2.74m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 15.7 kts. (29.08 km/hr, 18.07 mi/hr) |
| Complement: | 99 |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War II |
| Awards: | 2 battle stars as PCE-877 |
Construction and commissioning
The USS Havre was laid down on 6 May 1943 at Albina Engine and Machine Works, Portland, Oregon, as Patrol Craft Escort, PCE-877. The PCEs were designed for general escort work and provided a cheaper and quicker alternative to the larger destroyers, while maintaining a substantial amount of detection and ranging gear used for locating submarines. The ship was launched 11 August 1943, and commissioned on 14 February 1944.
The launching of the PCE 877 was a celebrated occasion that was noted in the 10 August 1943 edition of the Corvallis Gazette-Times of Corvallis, Oregon. On 11 August 1943, Marjorie L. Wooton, daughter of local Colonel Elmer V. Wooton, recent recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army), christened the PCE 877 in the presence of a crowd that included Oregon governor Earl Snell.
The PCE-877 received its fitting out and shakedown from 14 February 1944 to 31 March 1944 at the Albina Engine & Machine Works shipyard, Portland, Oregon and Naval Base San Diego.
Service history
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
Starting 1 April 1944, the PCE-877 began its escort duties as Patrol and Escort, Central Pacific region. On 19 September 1944, the PCE-877 arrived at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for conversion to an Amphibious Control Vessel. The Navy control groups were responsible for the control of the assault waves of landing ships, landing craft, and amphibious vehicles from the transport and landing ship areas to the landing beaches.
After refitting, the PCE-877 set out from Pearl Harbor on 22 January 1945 to Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, arriving 3 February 1945. The ship immediately continued on to Saipan, the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, to join the Iwo Jima invasion force. The PCE-877 arrived at the transport area of Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, directing and controlling landing craft on their approach to the beaches. Following the initial assault the ship patrolled off the island, performing rescue and salvage operations. Reports indicate the ship sustained minor damage that did not require immediate repair off Iwo Jima on 23 February 1945.
The PCE-877 departed Iwo Jima in late March 1945 to Leyte, Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa. On 1 April 1945 the PCE-877 assumed attack station to coordinate landing ships on their approach Okinawa. Under frequent enemy air attack, the ship remained off Okinawa providing troop support until 14 April 1945. The PCE-877 then sailed for Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands for a month-long overhaul.
The PCE-877 resumed operations off Okinawa on 16 May 1945. On 28 May 1945 the ship came under fire by Japanese aircraft while assisting LCS-119, which had been sunk by a kamikaze attack. During this encounter the PCE-877 aided in shooting down an enemy plane and recovered 61 survivors from the LCS-119. For the remainder of the war the PCE-877 alternated between performing patrol off Okinawa and conducting amphibious training in the Philippines. The PCE-877 was formally reclassified PCE(C)-877 on 20 August 1945 (even though the conversion took place 8 months prior in Hawaii). The PCE(C)-877 escorted a transport convoy en-route to Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan. The PCE(C)-877 is listed as one of five allied Submarine Chasers present for the formal surrender on 2 September 1945.
Post-War Atlantic operations
Following the end of World War II, the PCE(C)-877 returned to the United States early in 1946, arriving Charleston, South Carolina, in February 1946. From 1946 to April 1954 the ship was attached to Amphibious Control Squadron 2, exercising control and coordinating amphibious forces in the assaults from the sea and supporting embarked Marine forces once they are established ashore. During this assignment, the PCE(C)-877 engaged in exercises in the North Atlantic, Chesapeake Bay, and the Caribbean Sea.
Naval Reserve Training Ship - Great Lakes
In April 1954, the PCE(C)-877 was transitioned from active duty and reassigned as a Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District. The ship proceeded from the Gulf of Mexico, via the Mississippi River and Illinois River to Chicago and reported to Naval Station Great Lakes. This coincided with the creation of the new Gunnery School at the Naval Station, which was dedicated in March of 1954. On 27 October 1955, the ship was reclassified to PCE-877, its original classification, as it was no longer coordinating amphibious assaults and landings. Just four months later, on 15 February 1956, the ship was renamed the USS Havre (PCE-877) as part of a Navy-wide initiative to provide names to all remaining numbered ships. During its operation, the USS Havre (PCE-877) operated throughout the Great Lakes, engaging in 2-week cruises which provided valuable training for Naval Reservists, including anti-submarine warfare and gunnery exercises. The PCE-877's final voyage was sailing with the Ninth Naval District Reserve Destroyer Division fleet on 27 April 1970.
The USS Havre (PCE-877) was struck from the US Navy roster of ships on 1 July 1970.
Decorations
The PCE-877 received two battle stars for World War II service in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, for its performance at the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa.