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| USN PC-461 Class Submarine Chaser 280 Tons 173' 8" x 23' x 10' 10" 2 x 3"/50 deck guns 1 x 40mm AA gun 3 x 20mm AA gun 2 x rocket launchers 4 x depth charge projectors 2 x depth charge tracks  USN February 28, 1942  USN June 1943  Gibbons 1943 |
Ship History Built by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, NY. Laid down December 6, 1941 as PC-461 Class Submarine Chaser. Launched February 28, 1942 as USS PC-487. Commissioned June 2, 1942 as USS PC-487 with Lt. Walter G. Cornell in command. Wartime History On June 10, 1943 in heavy fog, PC-487 was patrolling roughly 40 miles north-northeast of Shemya the sub chaser made radar contact with Japanese submarine I-24. At 8:09am the sub chaser made visual contact with a pair of periscopes from what appeared to be a stopped submarine approximately 250 yards away. Immediately, PC-487 increased speed to full speed of 18 knots. At 8:10am PC-487 released a pattern of five depth charges from the tracks set at shallow settings that landed ahead of the submarine. At the same time, the port K gun also fired depth charges in the vicinity of the periscopes. At 8:11am the depth charge explosions forced the submarine to the surface and appeared to be lifted to the surface by the force of the blast. At 8:13m attempted to ram the submarine and damaged both periscopes, antenna and net cutter but passed above the hull then circled to make another pass. At 8:15am opened fire with her 20mm cannons and scoring hits on the conning tower from a range of 250 yards. The no. 1 (bow) 3"/50 deck gun fired once scoring a hit on the conning tower. At 8:17am the sub chaser rammed the submarine a second time, hitting just forward of the conning tower causing the submarine to roll over and the no. 2 (stern) 3"/50 cal gun commenced rapid fire scoring five hit with four above the waterline and one hit on the conning tower before the submarine sank at at Lat 53-16N Long 174-24E. By 2:55pm, USS St. Mihiel came alongside and her Commanding Officer (C.O.) came aboard to supervise emergency repairs including the installation of shoring of damaged compartments and pumping of air into flooded compartments A303A, A304C, A305M and A306L. Afterwards, escorted by USS St. Mihiel to Attu. On June 12, 1943 enters Massacre Bay off Attu and was moored alongside USS St. Mihiel so repairs could continue. Postwar During January 1947 became a Naval Reserve Training vessel assigned to the 5th Naval District. On February 15, 1956 renamed Larchmont after Larchmont, New York. On July 1, 1960 transfered to Venezuela. Ultimate fate unknown. Awards PC-487 earned one battle star for her World War II service. Members of crew earned Navy Cross, three Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit and a Navy Citation. References Some sources identify the Japanese submarine sunk as I-9 incorrectly. Japanese sources indicate the ramming of Japanese submarine I-24 as June 11, 1943, the date of the loss across the International Dateline in Japan NARA USS PC-487 War Diary pages 2-8 (June 10, 1943), 12-13 (Antisubmarine action by surface ship, June 10, 1943) Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) - Larchmont NavSource - Larchmont (PC 487) ex-PC-487 Contribute
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