Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Photo Archive

USCGC Amethyst (WPYc 3)
ex-USS Amethyst (PYc 3)



Call sign:
Nan - Charlie - Dog - Dog


Amethyst served both the U. S. Navy and Coast Guard

Coastal Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1931 as the yacht Samona II by Craig Shipbuilding Co., Long Beach, CA
  • Purchased by the Navy 4 November 1940
  • Commissioned USS Amethyst (PYc 3), 27 February 1941
  • Decommissioned 2 February 1944
  • Transferred to the Coast Guard 10 March 1944 and commissioned USCGC Amethyst (WPYc 3)
  • Decommissioned 27 February 1946 at San Diego, CA
  • Struck from the Naval Register 12 March 1946
  • Transferred 11 September 1946 to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • Sold to Samuel K. Rindge of Los Angeles, CA and renamed Samona II
  • Sold in the early 1950s to David P. Hamilton of Shreveport, LA and renamed Pudlo
  • Sold in 1961 to Norman A. Manning of Miami, FL and renamed Explorer
  • Sold in 1962 to Clarence Y. Martin of Houston, TX
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 350 t.
  • Length 146' 9"
  • Beam 23' 6"
  • Draft 11'
  • Speed 14 kts.
  • Complement 46
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount and two depth charge tracks
  • Propulsion: Two 600hp Winton diesel engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    MY Samona II
    Amethyst 104k
    USS Amethyst (PYc 3)
    Amethyst 30k
    Namesake:

    Amethyst - A clear purple or bluish-violet variety of quartz, considered by jewelers a semiprecious gem

    		 Tommy Trampp
    Photo added 11 September 2020
    Amethyst 252k c. February 1941
    National Archives photo 80-G-457673    		 Naval History and Heritage Command
    Amethyst 134k Starboard side view of Amethyst at Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, 19 May 1944
    National Archives photo 19-N-77494    		 Mike Green
    Amethyst 151k Port quarter view of Amethyst at Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, 19 May 1944
    National Archives photo 19-N-77497
    Amethyst 120k Bow on view of Amethyst at Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, 19 May 1944
    National Archives photo 19-N-77497
    Amethyst 152k Stern view of Amethyst at Hunters Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, 19 May 1944
    National Archives photo 19-N-77499
    View the Amethyst (PYc 3)
    DANFS History entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Index Back to the Coastal Patrol Yacht (PYc) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created and maintained by Joseph M. Radigan
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History