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Gunboat Photo Archive

Erie (PG-50)



Call sign:
Nan - Uncle - Peter - Sugar

Sunk 5 December 1942
Erie Class Gunboat:

  • Laid down in December 1934 at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, NY
  • Launched 29 January 1936
  • Commissioned 1 July 1936
  • Joined destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD 247) at wreck Bay, Galapagos Islands, to assist U.S. tuna boat City of San Diego and took on board the craft's chief engineer who had pneumonia, and sailed the
    following day for Balboa, Canal Zone where he was transferred ashore for medical attention
  • Beached 12 November 1942 at Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles after being torpedoed by the German submarine U-163
  • Capsized and sank, 5 December 1942 after being towed to Willemstad, Curaçao
  • Struck from the Navy Register 28 July 1943
  • Salvaged in 1952 and her hulk sunk in deeper water.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 2,000 t.
  • Length 328' 6"
  • Beam 41' 3"
  • Draft 14' 10"
  • Speed 20 kts.
  • Complement 243
  • Armament: Four 6"/47 gun mounts, two quad 1.1" machine guns, two 3-pounders and one aircraft
  • Propulsion: Two Babcock & Wilcox boilers, two Parsons geared turbines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Erie (PG 50)
    Erie 357k 15 April 1936
    New York (Brooklyn) Navy Yard, New York
    Library of Congress photo from National Museum of the U.S. Navy    		 Michael Mohl
    USS Erie (PG 50)
    Erie 233k U.S. Navy photo Tommy Trampp Jim Kurrasch, Battleship Iowa, Pacific Battleship Center
    Erie 116k Commissioning day postcard, postmarked 1 July 1936, USS Erie Tommy Trampp
    Erie 205k 1 July 1936
    Commissioning ceremony at New York (Brooklyn) Navy Yard, New York
    Library of Congress photo from National Museum of the U.S. Navy    		 Michael Mohl
    Erie 404k 5 October 1936
    New York Navy Yard, New York City, New York
    Library of Congress photo from National Museum of the U.S. Navy
    Erie 321k 19 October 1936
    Off the New York Navy Yard, New York City, New York
    Library of Congress photo from National Museum of the U.S. Navy
    Erie 32k
    Erie 370k Aerial starboard bow view of Erie underway in May 1940
    National Archives photo 80-G-466205    		 Robert Hurst
    Erie 362k Original photo: U.S. Navy photo
    Replacement photo: Underway after completion of long range battle practice, off Coco Solo, C.Z. on April 7, 1938
    National Archives photo 80-G-413975    		 Original photo: Robert Hurst
    Replacement photo: Mike Green
    Erie 142k c. 1936
    Photo courtesy of Navy Recruiting Bureau, New York    		 Darryl Baker
    Erie 148k c. October 1936
    Departing Brooklyn, NY for her shakedown cruise
    Photo by Wide World Photos, Inc., New York, NY
    Erie 125k Original photo: U.S. Navy photo
    Replacement photo: 18 December 1936
    Photo caption:
    VESSEL FIRED ON BY WARSHIP

    The State Department confirmed today, (Dec. 18), reports that the U.S.S. Erie (shown above), had been fired on by an unidentified Spanish warship near the port of Gijon, Spain
    Acme Newspictures, Inc. photo

    		 Original photo: Joe Radigan
    Replacement photo: Tommy Trampp
    Erie 299k Naval Ship Cover postmarked 1 July 1937 Norfolk, VA
    Cachet by Norwood B. Scatchard, West Chester, PA. Draw by Richard Buchwald, Cleveland, OH    		 Tommy Trampp
    Erie 199k 3 August 1937
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 54265    		 Mike Green
    Erie 171k Port side closeup of Erie taken 3 August 1937
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 54264
    Erie 65k c. May 1940
    U.S. Navy photo    		 Dan Driver
    Erie 44k c. 1941
    Erie 229k Original photo: U.S. Navy photo
    Replacement photo: Port quarter view while moored at Balboa, Canal Zone, in early November 1942
    National Archives photo 19-N-36104    		 Original photo: Tom Kermen
    Replacement photo: Mike Green
    Erie 200k Moored at Balboa, Canal Zone, in early November 1942
    National Archives photo 19-N-36105    		 Mike Green
    Erie 64k 2 December 1942
    Willemstad, Curaçao
    Erie 186k Port bow view of Erie on 2 December 1942, at Willemstadt, in Macola Bay, near Curaçao, West Indies. The ship had been towed; after being torpedoed on 12 November and abandoned
    National Archives photo 80-G-30867    		 Mike Green
    Erie 156k Stern view of Erie taken 2 December 1942, at Willemstadt, near Curaçao, West Indies, under salvage
    National Archives photo 80-G-30870
    Erie 167k Starboard quarter view of Erie taken 2 December 1942. The ship is beached in Macola Bay, near Willemstadt, near Curaçao, West Indies
    National Archives photo 80-G-30873
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR Edward William Hanson, USN - USNA Class of 1911
    Awarded two Navy Crosses (1917/1943) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		1 July 1936 - 27 April 1937
    02CDR Allen Withers Ashbrook, USN - USNA Class of 191427 April 1937 - 12 June 1940
    03CDR Andrew Robert Mack, USN - USNA Class of 1917
    Awarded the Silver Star (1942) and the Legion of Merit (1944) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		1940 - 5 December 1942
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Joe Radigan
    View the Erie (PG-50)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Additional Resources and Websites of Interest
    Booklet of General Plans
    from the Historic Naval Ships Association website
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Index Back to the Gunboat (PG) Photo Index
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    This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Joe Radigan
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