USS St. Augustine

USS St. Augustine (PG-54) was built in 1929 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport News, Virginia. She was originally a steel-hulled yacht named Viking and later named Noparo.[2][3] She was purchased by the US Navy on 5 December 1940 and was sent to Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Boston, Massachusetts where she was converted into a patrol gunboat. She was named St. Augustine on 9 January 1941 and commissioned as USS St. Augustine on 16 January 1941.[2][3]

USS St. Augustine
History
United States
Name	USS St. Augustine
Namesake	St. Augustine, Florida
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA
Cost	$1,250,000[1]
Acquired	5 December 1940
Commissioned	16 January 1941
Fate	Sunk after collision with merchant tanker
General characteristics
Type	Gunboat
Displacement	1,720 long tons (1,750 t) (full)
Length	272 ft 2 in (82.96 m)
Beam	36 ft (11 m)
Draft	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Propulsion	Turbo-electric 2 × shafts
Speed	14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Complement	185
Armament	2 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns

St. Augustine was assigned to the 1st Naval District and operated out of Boston as a patrol ship until 1942.[3][4] She was transferred to the Eastern Sea Frontier where she escorted convoys between New York City and various Caribbean ports.[3][4] On the night of 6 January 1944, while leading a convoy from New York to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, St. Augustine was accidentally rammed by merchant tanker Camas Meadows off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey.[2][4] St. Augustine foundered within five minutes, and 115 of the 145 crewmembers on board were killed.[3]