USS Woonsocket

USS Woonsocket (PF-32) was a Tacoma-class frigate in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was sold to Peru in 1947, where she served as BAP Gálvez (F-1/FE-1) until 1961.

History
United States
NameWoonsocket
NamesakeCity of Woonsocket, Rhode Island
BuilderWalter Butler Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin
Laid down12 August 1943
Launched27 September 1943
Commissioned1 September 1944
Decommissioned16 March 1946
Stricken14 May 1947
FateTransferred to the US Coast Guard, 16 March 1946
United States
NameWoonsocket
Commissioned16 March 1944
Decommissioned18 September 1946
FateSold to Peru, 1947
Peruvian Navy JackPeru
NameTeniente Gálvez
Acquired1948
Decommissioned1961
RenamedGálvez
ReclassifiedFE-1
FateBroken up
General characteristics
Class and typeTacoma-class frigate
Displacement1,264 long tons (1,284 t)
Length303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × 5,500 shp (4,101 kW) turbines
  • 3 boilers
  • 2 shafts
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement190
Armament

Construction

USS Woonsocket (PF-32) was named for Woonsocket, Rhode Island. She was originally classified as PG-140 and re-designated PF-32 on 25 June 1943, was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1443) on 12 August 1943 at the Walter Butler Shipbuilding Company in Superior, Wisconsin; launched on 27 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Ernest E. Dupre, wife of the mayor of Woonsocket; ferried to the Boston Navy Yard for completion; accepted by the Navy on 27 July 1944; and commissioned with a Coast Guard crew on 1 September 1944.

Service history

Following shakedown off Bermuda, Woonsocket returned to Boston for conversion to a weather ship before proceeding to Newfoundland, arriving at NS Argentia on 30 October. She performed meteorological charting duties off Newfoundland through the end of World War II and into the early months of 1946. She was decommissioned by the Navy on 16 March 1946 and recommissioned simultaneously by the Coast Guard on a loan basis. Woonsocket served with the Coast Guard until her final decommissioning on 18 September 1946 at New Orleans, Louisiana

Peruvian service

Struck from the Navy list on 14 May 1947, the frigate was subsequently transferred to the Government of Peru. She served the Peruvian Navy first as Teniente Gálvez (F 1) and later simply as Gálvez. Reclassified FE-1, she was decommissioned in 1961, and later broken up.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  • Photo gallery of USS Woonsocket (PF-32) at NavSource Naval History
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