McMinnville (PCS-1401)
1956-1962
Towns in the northwestern part of the state of Oregon and in the central part of the state of Tennessee.
(PCS‑1401; displacement 251 (light); length 136'0"; beam 24'6"; draft 8'7"; speed 14.0 knots; complement 57; armament 1 40 millimeter, 2 20 millimeter, 2 depth charge tracks, 2 depth charge projectors, 1 depth charge projector (Hedgehog); classPCS‑1376)
YMS‑542 was laid down on 3 March 1944 at Newport Beach, Calif., by the South Coast Co. ; redesignated as PCS‑1401 on 23 June 1944; launched on 22 July 1944; and commissioned at Newport Beach on 21 February 1945, Lt. Robert P. Gray, D-V(G), USNR, in command.
After shakedown training out of San Diego, Calif., PCS‑1401 reported for duty with the West Coast Sound Training Squadron at San Diego on 25 March 1945. During the closing months of World War II she operated off southern California training men in antisubmarine sonar techniques. She had similar duty out of San Diego over the next decade, joining Service Squadron 1 in November 1954.
On 31 March 1955 she left San Diego for Panama, New Orleans, and Chattanooga, Tenn., where she was decommissioned on 1 June 1955. Placed in an "in service" status, she began training naval reservists of the Chattanooga area.
Named McMinnville (PCS‑1401) on 15 February 1956, she continued to give vital service in maintaining reserve readiness until stricken from the Navy List on 1 August 1962. She was sold to Marine Exploration Co., Miami, Fla., on 28 May 1963.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
12 April 2024
