Tarrytown PC-1252

Tarrytown


(PC-1252: dp. 348 (tl.), 1. 173'8"; b. 23'0", dr. 10'10"
s. 20.2 k. (tl.); cpl. 65, a. 1 3", 1 40mm; cl. PC-461)

PC-1253 was laid down on 8 June 1942 at Houston, Tex., by the Brown Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 30 September 1942; sponsored by Miss Joan Keenan; and commissioned on 27 March 1943, Lt. Harry E. Wilkinson, USNR, in command.

Following shakedown near Miami, Fla., PC-1253 reported to the Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, for duty escorting ships between New York and the Caribbean. From May 1943 to March 1944, she made roundtrip voyages from New York City to either Key West, Fla., or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

On 25 March, PC-1252 departed New York bound for Falmouth, England, where she arrived on 19 April. After patrolling between Plymouth and Southhampton for over six weeks, she was assigned, on 3 June, to the forces preparing to invade Europe at Normandy. During Operation "Overlord," she was assigned duty covering the assault at "Utah" beach. After the landing forces had fought their way inland, she resumed patrols, first at "Omaha" beach and then at Cherbourg. Later, PC-1252 patrolled the Channel islands and the area around Le Havre.

Exactly one year after the Normandy invasion, on 6 June 1945, PC-1253 departed Europe in company with 16 other escorts. After stops in the Azores and in Bermuda, she reached Miami on 21 June and began overhaul at the Merrill Stevens drydocks. She completed repairs by the end of September and headed north to Norfolk, Va. From there, she was routed farther north for duty out of Melville, R.I. After operating along the northeastern coast of the United States for one year, PC-1252 was decommissioned on 28 June 1946 and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, Pa. Almost 10 years later, on 15 February 1956, she was named Tarrytown.

In 1960, Tarrytown was earmarked for disposal through the Military Assistance Program. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1960, and she was sold to Venezuela the following October. Acquired along with 11 of her sister ships for use in antismuggling patrols, she never saw duty with the Venezuelan Navy. Tarrytown was later discarded by Venezuela, probably after being cannibalized for spare parts for her 10 sisters who were in service

Tarrytown (PC-1252) earned one battle star during World War II.