USS Bluffton
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | PC-461 |
| Namesake | Bluffton, Indiana |
| Builder | George Lawley & Son, Neponset, Massachusetts |
| Laid down | 10 July 1941 |
| Launched | 23 December 1941 |
| Commissioned | 19 March 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 15 August 1946 |
| Renamed | Bluffton, 15 February 1956 |
| Stricken | 5 September 1957 |
| Fate | Sold 5 August 1958 to Ships and Power Inc.; ultimate fate unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | PC-461-class submarine chaser |
| Displacement | 450 t (440 long tons) |
| Length | 173 ft 8 in (52.93 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Fairbanks-Morse 38D8 1/8 diesel engines; Westinghouse single-reduction gears; 2 shafts |
| Speed | 20.2 knots (37.4 km/h; 23.2 mph) |
| Complement | 65 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USS PC-461 was the lead ship of the PC-461-class submarine chaser class built for the United States Navy during World War II. After the war she was placed in reserve and later named Bluffton (PC-461). She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1957 and sold for commercial use in 1958.[1]
Career
[edit]PC-461 was laid down on 10 July 1941 by George Lawley & Son at Neponset, Massachusetts. She was launched on 23 December 1941, sponsored by Mrs. Everett Paradise, and commissioned on 19 March 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Following commissioning, PC-461 served during World War II as a patrol and escort vessel. Early photographs show the ship operating in 1942 and assigned to the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami, Florida.
After the war, PC-461 was decommissioned on 15 August 1946 and placed in the Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida. A 1 January 1949 listing of the Naval Vessel Register noted plans for her decommissioning and reserve status as of January 1947.
On 15 February 1956 the vessel was officially named Bluffton. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 5 September 1957 and sold on 5 August 1958 to Ships and Power Inc. of Miami, Florida for $72,000. Her subsequent fate is unknown.[2]
Commanding officers
[edit]- LT Thomas Albert Peacock, USNR – 19 March 1942[3]
- LTJG Charles E. Camper, USNR – 1945
- LT William C. Schulenberg Jr., USNR
References
[edit]- ↑ "NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive". navsource.net. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ↑ "Sub Chasers Built During WWII (SC, PC, PCE, PCER, PCS)". navalmarinearchive.com. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ↑ "Commands listed for USS PC-461 (PC-461)". uboat.net. Retrieved 17 March 2026.