USS Van Buren (PF-42)

Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, California , 11 January 1944
History
United States
Name	Van Buren
Namesake	City of Van Buren, Arkansas
Ordered	as a MCE hull 1453[1]
Builder	Wilmington , California
Reclassified	Patrol Frigate (PF), 15 April 1943
Laid down	24 June 1943
Launched	27 July 1943
Commissioned	17 December 1943
Decommissioned	6 May 1946
Stricken	19 June 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: PG-150 Hull symbol: PF-42 Call sign: NZWK
Honors and awards	battle stars
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 1946
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Tacoma-class frigate
Displacement	1,430 long tons (1,450 t) (light load) 2,415 long tons (2,454 t) (full load)
Length	303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft	13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Installed power	2 × express boilers , 240 psi (1,700 kPa ) 5,500  kW )
Propulsion	2 × Vertical triple-expansion steam engine 2 × shafts
Speed	20.3 kn (37.6 km/h; 23.4 mph)
Complement	190
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual-purpose (DP) gun 2 × twin 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounts 9 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon AA gun mounts 2 × Depth charge tracks 8 × Depth charge projectors 1 × Hedgehog

USS Van Buren (PG-150/PF-42), a

Van Buren conducted shakedown testing off the US west coast before departing San Pedro, California, on 9 March 1944, bound for the western Pacific. She sailed in company with her sister ship Ogden, escorting the merchant tanker SS Fort Erie to Espiritu Santo from 23 to 29 March. Departing that port on 30 March, she arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea, on 2 April.^[4]

On 21 April,

As Army forces encountered enemy resistance ashore, naval units were often called on for gunfire support. Van Buren received such a request on the afternoon of 9 June. At 1740, the patrol frigate opened with her main battery, firing salvoes at Japanese troop concentrations near a road in the Sarmi-Sawar sector. Ten days later, the warship again provided gunfire support for the Army near Maffin Village. The next day, Van Buren lobbed 150 rounds of 3-inch (76 mm) and 180 of 40-millimeter (1.6 in) into the Maffin Village sector, with an Army spotting plane providing information on enemy positions. Lying just off the beach, Van Buren demolished her targets and started many fires. An Army plane again provided call-fire guidance on 23 June, when Van Buren once more supported Army troops struggling against the Japanese defenders, breaking up troop concentrations and destroying communications and supplies.^[4]

Van Buren subsequently screened the ships supporting the Cape Sansapor operations in August, and continued escort operations into autumn. On 10 November, Van Buren departed Humboldt Bay, bound for Cape Sansapor with a convoy of four LSTs (LST-654, LST-465, LST-471, and LST-697). En route on 16 November, its crew saw an Army plane crash four miles (6.4 km) away. They altered course and used the ship's motor whaleboat to rescue the aircraft's crew, unhurt.^[4]

One week later, during operations in the Philippines, Van Buren went to general quarters when El Paso radioed contact with an unidentified plane closing on their vicinity. Van Buren's SA radar picked up the enemy at 18 mi (29 km); her SL receivers picked up the contact at 6 mi (9.7 km). Although ready for action, the frigate did not get a chance to engage, as the plane veered away and passed along the opposite side of the convoy, well beyond gun range.^[4]

Van Buren continued her convoy escort and screening duties with the

Bibliography

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Van Buren at NavSource Naval History
• hazegray.org: USS Van Buren