USS PC-552 was a class-461 patrol craft ("PC") that was at the forefront of the naval efforts during the Normandy invasion. It served as convoy protection in the North Atlantic and as one of about ten PC control vessels off Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. PC-552 was among the first ships to reach waters off Omaha Beach. PC-552, primary control vessel for Fox Green sector of the beach, was forced into rescue efforts and recovery of bodies at the departure line for Fox Green when the Duplex Drive tanks that survived the initial disastrous launch were swamped at the line with only two surviving. The PC was diverted into this effort for forty-five minutes and ultimately only five tanks, the two that survived the launch disaster and three that were aboard LCT-600 whose commander raised his ramp when the first off foundered and instead landed them on the beach, reached the beach.
PC-552 remained in European waters until 6 June 1945, where after a ceremony commemorating the events of the previous year on that date, a convoy of PCs departed for the Atlantic crossing. PC-552 arrived at Key West, Florida on 22 June 1945 and was decommissioned at Charleston, South Carolina on 18 April 1946.
Patrol craft Patrol craft were 173 ft. long, had crews of 60 sailors and five officers, and were originally built for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), convoy escort duty, and coastal patrols. Most sailors referred to the PCs as the "Donald Duck Navy." .
Class PC-552 was a Class 461 ship. Class 461 Patrol Craft were built mainly for the US Navy from 1941 to 1944. This class was called Class 461 because the first one built was PC-461, which began the series. The first of the class to enter service was the PC-471. The class 461 was designed for rapid production in large numbers, to be effective anti-submarine vessels, and to relieve larger vessels from convoy duty. The U.S. Navy usually did not provide traditional names to PCs; the of this ship was PC-552. This PC class was considered seaworthy but bounced around on the water like no other craft. The PCs were a match for the enemy submarines when the submarines were submerged but the PCs were clearly outgunned in a surface battle. In such a case, the PC's preferred tactic was to charge the submarine to ram it, before the submarine could bring its superior gun to bear. Class 461 Patrol Craft were designed to get most of their drinking water from an onboard distillation plant. Because of the violent pitching, the distillation plants of the PCs rarely worked. Consequently, the PCs were continuously plagued by a shortage of drinking water.
Armament
Patrol craft were designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare and mine sweeping and the armament reflected this. A secondary group of arms were anti-aircraft. As an antisubmarine warfare ("ASW") ship, it was equipped with both sonar and radar to detect enemy submarines. Once such enemy submarines were detected, the ship's weapons were brought to bear. The ship's radar had a range of around , as the crew noted during their pursuit of an e-boat in February 1945.
Anti-submarine weapons were the heart of the patrol craft. They consisted of a 3"/50 caliber gun, depth charges, and anti-submarine rocket launchers known as mousetraps.
Patrol craft also had anti-aircraft weapons, including the Bofors 40 mm/56-caliber autocannon, which were either single or double barreled. There were also three 20 mm Oerlikons which was a manually operated air cooled weapon mounted on a pedestal.
Operations PC-552 protected numerous convoys up and down the east coast and the Caribbean, as well as Convoy UGS-29, as part of Task Force 69. It also screened for the Battle of Normandy fleet. During this period, it made contact with suspected enemy submarines many times, vigorously attacking them each time. It was credited with just one kill, but that is not certain. Although PC-552 suffered air attack numerous times, it had only one surface-to-surface engagement with a German E-Boat 6–7 February 1945. In this case, PC-552 outgunned the target and the engagement consisted of a race. Ultimately, the E-Boat got away.
Construction
PC-552 was laid down on 20 May 1941 at the Sullivan Dry Dock and Repair Co. of Brooklyn, New York.Friedman 1987, p. 476. It was launched on the evening of 13 February 1942 in the first night launch (which was considered risky) of the Third Naval District so that work could begin to work immediately on a sister ship, PC-553. About 2,000 people attended the launch, about half of whom were the workers who built PC-552. Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews, Commandant of the Third Naval District and Commander of the North Atlantic coastal frontier said, "Everything connected with this war must be on a 24-hour basis. These night launchings should be the most common occurrence in the world. Not a minute should be wasted in getting out the ships and planes and supplies of every sort that are needed on our many fighting fronts." Grace Finley, the 16-year-old daughter of the office manager of the Sullivan Company, smashed a bottle of champagne against PC-552 as the ship was launched. The keel of the next ship was laid immediately. Although originally scheduled for completion by 12 November 1941, PC-552 was finally accepted on 27 July 1942. Cost was $625,000 ($ today).
Deployments
1942
The USS PC 552 was commissioned on 29 July 1942, Lt. Donald McVickar, USNR commanding. By 12 August, the ship was underway for the first time in New York Harbor. The first few months were spent shaking down the ship, calibrating the engines, steering communication, guns, etc. The next month was spent training against American submarines. The first combat mission was in September during which the ship engaged with suspected German submarines. For most of the remainder of the year, the ship screened convoys between Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, berthing primarily at both places. There were several contacts with suspected enemy submarines which were attacked vigorously but no proof of destruction.
Beginning 20 September 1942, PC-552 had her first convoy escort patrol. The next day PC-552 made contact was with a submarine attacking when contact was made again on 22 September. An aircraft assisted and an oil slick was observed, but there was no proof the attack was successful. On 27 September 1942, the ship berthed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
PC-552 was underway again 29 September returning to Tompkinsville 7 October 1942 and picked up additional crew. PC-552 returned to Guantanamo Bay with another convoy, 11 to 18 October 1942. On 20 October the ship visited Santiago de Cuba. On 21 October, on the way back to Guantanamo Bay PC-552 engaged a possible submarine, but lost contact.
On 15 November 1942, PC-552 departed with a convoy bound for Tompkinsville. On 23 November, they made contact with suspected enemy submarine. A six and one-half hour engagement was made against the contact with the help of and an airplane. Multiple depth charges were dropped by the group. Eastern Sea Frontier command classified this as a likely submerged wreck and noted the attacks on old wrecks were common enough to consider attaching buoys to wrecks to prevent additional attacks. On 24 November 1942, PC-552 arrived at Tompkinsville.
On 28 November 1942, "Lt. J.R. Pilling, Jr. USNR relieved Lt. D McVickar USNR as commanding officer."
On 18 December 1942, PC-552 departed with a convoy dropping depth charges on a possible submarine contact, but contact was lost. They arrived and berthed at Guantanamo Bay on 25 December 1942.
1943
PC-552 performed protection for convoys going from New York (berthed at Tompkinsville) to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and back. For the most part, serious maintenance was performed at Tompkinsville such as replacing guns. Tompkinsville was also the main source for ammunition and new personnel. The first half of the year was similar to how 1942 was: periodic contacts with potential enemy submarines resulting in instant attacks by PC-552, great care given to zigzagging convoys, detailed deck log entries, etc. These were anxious, serious men at an anxious, serious task. The last half of the year, the convoys became routine. There were no contacts with potential enemies, there were less frequent convoys, and the deck log entries became cursory. Often, not even the name of the mooring station was mentioned. It apparently was obvious to all at the time where they berthed although not to us, reading the deck log entries today.
While on convoy patrol, PC-552 is believed to have killed a Nazi submarine on 15 May 1943 at 2300 hours. The ship was given credit for a possible kill in company with another PC (not clear this is the same incident).
PC-552 left Tompkinsville bound for Guantanamo Bay on 11 January 1943 screening a convoy. While en route on 17 January, PC-552 deployed a boarding party to ship #33 in the convoy retrieving them on the 18th and entering Guantanamo Bay the same day. PC-552 went on a one-day special sea detail on the 19th and departed 21 January 1943 with a convoy bound for Tompkinsville. On 22 January 1943, PC-552 dropped several depth charges on a possible submarine contact, arriving 27 Jan 1943 at Tompkinsville, Staten Island.
From 7 to 14 February 1943 PC-552 made another trip to Guantanamo Bay with a convoy returning to Tompkinsville 17 to 26 February. From 11 to 17 March 1943, PC-552 made a trip to Key West with a convoy returning to Tomknisville 22 to 28 March 1943.
2 to 9 April 1943, PC-552 sailed to Guantanamo Bay with another convoy. The trained with an American submarine on 12 April and returned to Tompkinsville 14 to 20 April 1943. PC-552 engaged possible submarine contacts 15 and 20 April, without proof of success. 2 to 9 May 1943, PC-552 sailed to Guantanamo Bay returning to Tompkinsville 14 to 22 May. On the night of 15 May 1943, while escorting convoy GN-59, PC-552 detected and engaged a possible submarine contact. There was a major underwater explosion seven minutes after depth charging the contact. The explosion was so large that it knocked out the lights in the engine room of PC-552 and was heard by other convoy escorts over 7 miles away. While the engagement was just south of the Eastern Frontier boundary, the commander there classified it as "Probable submarine, probably killed." At the time, the theory was that the contact was U-176 which had sunk two merchant ships off Cuba two nights earlier. In recent years it was determined that U-176 had been sunk on 15 May, but not at that location and not by PC-552. GN-59 was escorted by PC-552, PC-553, PC-1226 and .
6 to 13 June 1943, PC-552 sailed to Guantanamo Bay returning to Tomkinsville 16 to 24 June 1943. 6 to 13 July 1943, PC-552 sailed to Guantanamo Bay returning 14 to 19 July 1943. 22 to 29 July 1943 the ship sailed to Guantanamo Bay returning to Tompkinsville 2 to 7 August 1943.
On 9 August 1943, PC-552 was transferred back to Eastern Sea Frontier. The remainder of August and September was spent in and out of port underway for a few days each time.
On 2 October 1943, Lieutenant J. Ross Pilling, USNR turned over command of PC-552 to LTJG Frank Pierce.
PC-552 traveled to Guantanamo Bay 5 to 11 October 1943 returning to Tompkinsville. PC-552 spent the rest of the year in and out of various ports without significant incidents and on 17 December 1943, PC-552 arrived into New York from her last trip from Guantanamo Bay. She had been selected to go to France. In Dec 1943, PC-552 was originally assigned to the 8th Fleet (Mediterranean), perhaps without the ship knowing this, then switched to being assigned to the 12th Fleet (Europe).