Bayonne (PF-21)
1945-1961
A city in Hudson County, in the northeastern part of the state of New Jersey, at the end of the peninsula that separates upper New York Bay from Newark Bay.
(PF-21: displacement 1,430; length 303'11"; beam 37'6"; draft 13'8"; speed 20.3 knots; complement 190; armament 3 3-inch, 4 40 millimeter, 4 20 millimeter., 8 depth charge projectors, 1 depth charge projector (Hedgehog), 2 depth charge tracks; class Tacoma; type S2-S2-AQ1)
Bayonne (PF 21) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (M. C. Hull 1487) on 6 May 1943 at Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 11 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Hannah Gallagher; and placed in service on 22 September 1944 for the voyage to Baltimore, Md. She arrived in Baltimore on 2 October 1944 and was placed out of service on 6 October 1944. Upon the completion of her outfitting, the frigate was placed in commission at Baltimore on 14 February 1945, Cmdr. Elmer E. Comstock, USCG, in command.
Bayonne moved south to Hampton Roads, Va., at the end of February 1945 and, on 3 March, put to sea bound for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, whence she conducted her shakedown training. On 3 April, she departed the Guantanamo Bay operating area and, after stops at Kingston, Jamaica, and New York, she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for post shakedown repairs. She completed repairs early in May and, on the 7th, headed for New York. Arriving the following day, Bayonne remained there for almost two months. On 3 July, she got underway for the west coast. She arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., late in July and underwent a short availability.
During the last week in August 1945, the frigate moved north to Cold Bay, Alaska, where she was decommissioned on 2 September and loaned to the Soviet Union that same day under the terms of the lend lease program in Project Hula. She served in the Soviet Navy as the unnamed EK -(for storozhevoi korabl, or escort vessel) 25 until October of 1949 when she was returned to the U. S. Navy. Placed in reserve on 14 November 1949, the warship remained inactive at Yokosuka, Japan, until war broke out in Korea in the summer of 1950. Bayonne was recommissioned at Yokosuka on 28 July 1950, Lt. Cmdr. Harry A. Clark in command.
On 11 September 1950, Bayonne left Kobe, Japan, in company with Task Group (TG) 90.7, bound for the west coast of Korea. On 15 September, she screened the amphibious force when United Nations forces assaulted the port of Inchon. She continued service in Korean waters for the next 16 months, making voyages to Japan intermittently for repairs and liberty. Until the end of August 1951, Bayonne continued to serve with TG 90.7. After that time, the patrol frigate operated with TG 92.1 in the waters near Wonsan and Songjin on North Korea’s eastern coast.
Bayonne was decommissioned at Yokosuka on 31 January 1953 The following October, she was loaned to the government of Japan for service in its Maritime Self-Defense Force. Her name was stricken from the Navy list on 1 December 1961, and she was retransferred to Japan in August 1962. The frigate was returned to the Navy late in 1967, and she was sunk as a target on 1 March 1968.
Bayonne received six battle stars for her service in the Korean conflict.
Raymond A. Mann
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
21 June 2024
