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.jpg) USSJamestown (PG-55) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Jamestown |
| Namesake | Settlement ofJamestown, Virginia |
| Ordered | asSavarona |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | 1928 |
| Acquired | 6 December 1940 |
| Commissioned | 26 May 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 6 March 1946 |
| Stricken | date unknown |
| Fate | Sold, 16 December 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,780 tons |
| Length | 294 ft (90 m) |
| Beam | 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Complement | 259 |
| Armament | Two3"/50 caliber guns, six 20mm AA guns |
USSJamestown (PG-55) was a patrol gunboat and after 13 January 1943 aJamestown-classmotor torpedo boat tender acquired by theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. Her task in her final classification was to provide a "home base" for torpedo boats in remote parts of the ocean during the war, and to provide them with necessary services, such as fuel, food, and repairs.
Jamestown was built asSavarona in 1928, byPusey & Jones Corp.,Wilmington, Delaware, for Mrs. Thomas S. Cadwallader ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. While Mrs. Cadwallader operated her,Savarona was said to be the largest and most luxurious yacht in the world. ColonelWilliam Boyce Thompson purchased the palatial vessel in 1929, and renamed herAlder prior to his daughter donating the vessel to the U.S. Navy.
Alder was donated to the U.S. Navy atNew York on 6 December 1940; converted into agunboat in the Fletcher Division Shipyard ofBethlehem Shipbuilding Co.,Hoboken, New Jersey; renamedJamestown and designatedPG-55; and commissioned atNew York Navy Yard 26 May 1941.
Jamestown's first summer in the Navy was devoted to trainingU.S. Naval Academymidshipmen. She sailed toAnnapolis, Maryland, 1 June to embark her first detachment of 100 third-class men and 3 instructors for a 2-week training cruise toNorfolk, Virginia.
At the end of the summer, after completing a number of similar cruises,Jamestown steamed toNew York to be fitted out as a motor-torpedo-boat tender. When final conversion was completed, she sailed toMelville, Rhode Island, to assist in establishing the Motor Torpedo Boat Training Center and to serve astraining ship and tender for the boats of Squadron 4 while she readied herself for combat.
In June 1942, she returned to New York to receive new equipment before departing for the SouthPacific Ocean. Eager for action, the tender stood out of New York Harbor 1 August. While she steamed toward theNew Hebrides Islands via thePanama Canal andPearl Harbor, the Navy daringly launched its first offensive thrust againstJapan by landing the1st Marine Division onGuadalcanal andTulagi.
The Navy's resources available forOperation Watchtower were meager at the outset of the fighting on 7 August but had dangerously weakened by combat losses in ensuing weeks of desperate fighting against heavy odds. In September, whenJamestown arrived inEspiritu Santo, theU.S. Marines on Guadalcanal were suffering from a critical shortage of supplies. While awaiting the arrival of thePT boats of Squadron 3, the tender busied herself escorting resupplyconvoys between theNew Hebrides andTulagi towing abarge carrying 2,000 barrels (320 m3) of gasoline and 500 quarter-ton bombs.
Jamestown was atNoumea,New Caledonia, 19 September when boats of the 1st Division of Squadron 3 arrived. Cargo shipBellatrix assisted her in towing them toEspiritu Santo, whereJamestown entrusted them to two fast minesweepers for the final passage to Tulagi and resumed her efforts to keep vital supplies flowing through the enemy infested waters to the Marines on Guadalcanal. Finally she reported to Tulagi 22 October and there, in the center of the bitter struggle subject to constant air attack, began servicing thePT boats of Squadron 3. For the next 4 months these fearless little ships patrolled "Iron Bottom Sound" nightly, frequently challenging Japanesedestroyers,cruisers, and evenbattleships of "theTokyo Express". During the dayJamestown worked feverishly to ready the worn and battered boats for the next patrol. Besides ministering to the PT boats, the tender assisted with preliminary repairs to battle-damaged American cruisers and sent parties ashore to construct pipelines to water holes.
Jamestown and the PT boats of Squadron 3 were explicitly included in thePresidential Unit Citation awarded the1st Marine Division for taking and holding strongly defended Japanese positions onTulagi,Gavutu,Tanambogo,Florida Island, andGuadalcanal.
The tender was redesignated AGP-3 on 13 January 1943, and commenced operating under Commander Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron,U.S. Pacific Fleet. She departed Tulagi 18 February 1943 on one of countless trips made during the following year from that port to the New Hebrides orRendova for supplies for the PT boats or acting as escort between island groups. After 12 months of this valuable service,Jamestown departed Tulagi 9 February 1944 for a well-earned and badly needed overhaul atSan Pedro, California.
Back in tip-top shape she sailed from San Pedro 17 July and arrivedEspiritu Santo 5 August. By this time theSolomons and theBismarck Archipelago were secure; and the PT boats were needed in the Southwest Pacific, where General MacArthur was fighting forNew Guinea.Jamestown found herself shuttling supplies, equipment, and supporting troops from the Solomons to bases in New Guinea. Her former role as a tender was now filled by larger ships designed specifically for the task.Jamestown proudly proved her worth as a utility ship maintaining communications between PT boat bases. For example, she departedTreasury Island 6 September 1944 to rendezvous atBougainville with a troop transport which she escorted toMilne Bay,Dutch New Guinea, returning to Treasury Island a week later ready for a similar voyage escorting merchantmen toFinschhafen, Dutch New Guinea.
Ordered to thePhilippines 5 February 1945,Jamestown arrivedLeyte 12 February to mess and berth men of Motor Torpedo Squadron 24 until 18 March.Convoy duty betweenSamar andWoendi,Schouten Islands was followed by voyages toBorneo and various ports in the Philippines occupying the tender until after Japan surrendered.
Jamestown departed Samar for the United States 20 October 1945 and arrivedSan Francisco, California, 24 November. She decommissioned there 6 March 1946 ending her busy and useful service and was transferred to theMaritime Commission for disposal 4 September 1946. She was sold toBalfour Gutrie and Co., Ltd., 16 December 1946.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.