PCE-842-class patrol craft

The Admirable class had been developed as a smaller minesweeper than the Raven-class and Auk-class minesweepers, which would be cheaper and easier to build, while still having good seakeeping capabilities in high seas. An escort derivative of the new design was proposed for supply under the Lend-Lease scheme to Britain's Royal Navy (which had already rejected the Admirable class as minesweepers), and when the United States Navy realized that a shortage of engines might prevent it from receiving additional PC-461-class submarine chasers beyond those already on order, it was decided to build the escort variant, designated as Patrol Craft Escort (PCE) for both the US Navy and Royal Navy.^[1][2]

The ships were 184 ft 6 in (56.24 m) long overall and 180 ft 0 in (54.86 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 33 ft 1 in (10.08 m) and a draft of 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m).^[1] Displacement was 850 long tons (860 t) standard and 903 long tons (917 t) full load.^[3] They were powered by two 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) General Motors 12-278A diesel engines driving two shafts via single reduction gearing.^[1][3] This gave a speed of 15.7 kn (18.1 mph; 29.1 km/h).^[3] The ships had a range of 8,500 nmi (9,800 mi; 15,700 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h).^[1]

The normal armament on completion consisted of a single 3 in (76 mm) gun forward, two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, backed up by 4 or 5 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. A Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar was mounted between the 3 inch gun and the ship's bridge, while depth charge projectors and rails were mounted on the ships' fantail.^[4][5] Later ships were fitted with a third Bofors gun and additional Oerlikons,^[3] while ships were later modified to mount three twin Bofors mounts and four Oerlikons.^[5] Some ships (including PCE-867) were armed with two 3-inch guns and three Oerlikons.^[6]

The class was fitted with radar, sonar and other detection equipment for ASW.

Some PCEs were later converted to Rescue Escorts, PCE(R), and to Amphibious Control Vessels, PCE(C), which were used in many U.S. amphibious landing operations during World War II, especially Leyte Gulf and Normandy. Two such ships, which were converted to Rescue Escorts, were the USS Somersworth and USS Fairview, both of which were present at the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.^[7]

Sixty-eight Patrol Craft Escorts were built for the US Navy, and seventeen were delivered under the Lend-Lease Program to Allies during World War II. ^{[dubious – discuss]} The PCEs proved to be an inexpensive substitute for larger and more valuable destroyers and destroyer escorts in convoy escort work.

As of 2014^[update], the Philippine Navy still operates the Miguel Malvar class with six PCEs as gun corvettes, with all the ships' ASW equipment already removed. The PCE is the most numerous major ship class of the Philippine Navy that, at one time, numbered more than ten vessels.

68 boats listed: 827 ... 860, 867 ... 886, 891 ... 904

Ship name	Hull number	Builder	Original navy of service	Comm.	Decomm.	Status
Kilbernie	PCE-827	Pullman Company, Chicago, Illinois	Royal Navy	16 July 1943	June 1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; sold for scrap, August 1997[8][9]
Kilbride	PCE-828		Royal Navy	31 July 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; sold for scrap, 1988[10]
Kilchatten	PCE-829		Royal Navy	16 August 1943	12 July 1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; sold for scrap, 1983[11]
Kilchrenan	PCE-830		Royal Navy	31 August 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; currently in service as of 2019 as a ferry. After conversion to ferry and passenger boat she sailed under the name MS Sunnhordland, a name she still carries. The ship was fully restored in 2016 and is now operating as a historic ship at the west coast of Norway.[12]
Kildary	PCE-831		Royal Navy	14 September 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; sold for scrap, 1980
Kildwick	PCE-832		Royal Navy	27 September 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; sunk while under tow, October 1983
Kilham	PCE-833		Royal Navy	9 October 1943	1945	Built in 1943 for the US Navy by the Pullman Car Company. Constructed of reinforced steel. Laid down 1943 February 26 as PCE-833 by the Pullman Standard Car Co., Chicago, IL. Launched 1943 August. Transferred 1943 October To Great Britain and commissioned HMS Kilham (Z 07); Reclassified BEC-7. Returned 1946 to U.S. custody in December; Struck from the Navy Register in 1947. Sold 1949 to S/A Investment (FylkesbaataneSogne og Fjordane, Mgrs.) of Bergen, Norway. Converted 1950 renamed M/S Sognefjord passenger ship. Sold 1958 to FylkesbataaneSogne og Fjordane of Bergen; Operated on the Norwegian west coast until 1982. Sold 1982 to Filmeffekt A/S of Oslo, Norway, and renamed Orion. Sold 1984 to K/S Orion Film A/S of Bergen and laid up. Sold 1987 to Matkat OY of Helsingfors, Finland. Sold 1991 to Orion Risteilyt O/Y of Hamina, Finland, and renamed Orion II. Sold 1996 to Jaako Mathias Eriksson of Honduras. Sold 1997 renamed ORIENT EXPLORER. Listed for sale in Sabah, Malaysia, 2019 for $129,000.
Kilkenzie	PCE-834		Royal Navy	20 October 1943	July 1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1948; sold for scrap, 1978
Kilkhampton	PCE-835		Royal Navy	30 Oct 1943	1945	Returned to the United States, December 1946; fate unknown
Kilmacolm	PCE-836		Royal Navy	6 November 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1952; fate unknown
Kilmarnock	PCE-837		Royal Navy	13 November 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1949; wrecked 5 January 1951
Kilmartin	PCE-838		Royal Navy	11 December 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; sold for scrap, 12 June 1969
Kilmelford	PCE-839		Royal Navy	8 December 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1949; fate unknown
Kilmington	PCE-840		Royal Navy	11 December 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1951; sold for scrap, 2007
Kilmore	PCE-841		Royal Navy	24 December 1943	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1947; fate unknown
Marfa	PCE-842		United States Navy	29 January 1944	17 August 1955	Transferred to South Korea, 18 December 1961; Sunk by North Korean shore battery fire, 19 January 1967
Skowhegan	PCE-843		United States Navy	30 January 1944	March 1955	Sold to a commercial interest, 1961; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-844		United States Navy	18 February 1944	November 1947	sold to the Mexican Navy and named ARM Pedro Sainz De Barandas (PO 123). Fate unknown.
Worland	PCE-845		United States Navy	1 March 1944	25 May 1964	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) on 11 December 1950 and served on the Great Lakes. Transferred to State of North Carolina, Cape Fear Technical Institute, Wilmington, NC, 6 August 1964 and renamed R/V Advance II. Sold in 1980 to the Standard Products Co., Inc. of Wilmington, North Carolina. Donated to the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries 15 October 1993. Sunk 21 June 1994 off Kitty Hawk (Artificial Reef 145) as part of their artificial reef program.
Eunice	PCE 846		United States Navy	4 March 1944	Unknown	Transferred to Ecuador, 29 November 1960; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-847		United States Navy	18 March 1944	Unknown	Transferred to Mexico, November 1947; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-848		United States Navy	30 March 1944	March 1946	Sold for scrap, January 1947
Somersworth	PCE-849		United States Navy	11 April 1944	September 1965	Sold for scrap, 1972
Fairview	PCE-850		United States Navy	17 April 1944	1 May 1968	Sold to a commercial interest, 1969; fate unknown
Rockville	PCE-851		United States Navy	15 May 1944	21 December 1968	Transferred to Colombia, 1969 as ARC San Andres (BO 151) before being sent to the Colombian Coast Guard. Decommissioned in the late 1980s.
Brattleboro	PCE-852		United States Navy	26 May 1944	1 November 1965	Transferred to South Vietnam, 11 July 1966; later fled to the Philippines in 1975 after the fall of South Vietnam; Active as of 2021 November
Amherst	PCE-853		United States Navy	15 June 1944	6 February 1970	Transferred to South Vietnam, 3 June 1970; later fled to the Philippines in 1975 after the fall of South Vietnam; served in PhN as BRP Datu Marikudo, decommissioned 2010 Dec 9; equipment stripped for spares, hull sold for scrap
n/a	PCE-854		United States Navy	4 January 1945	1945	Sold to a commercial interest, 1945; fate unknown
Rexburg	PCE-855		United States Navy	1 November 1944	2 March 1970	Sold to a commercial interest, 28 October 1970; last documented, 2009; fate unknown
Whitehall	PCE-856		United States Navy	11 November 1944	1 July 1970	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 4th Naval District (Philadelphia) July 1946. Decommissioned 1 July 1970 and sold to Eastern Seaboard Pile-Driving of Montvale and renamed Donna Marie. Converted to a tug in 1974. Sold to Standard Products Co. Inc. of Reedsville, Virginia, and renamed Atlantic Surf in 1980. Sold to Omega Protein Inc. of Hammond, Louisiana, and renamed Atlantic Shore. Fate unknown.
Marysville	PCE-857		United States Navy	26 April 1945	July 1970	Sold to a commercial interest, 1975; last documented, 1995; fate unknown
Jackson	PCE-858		United States NavyUnited States Coast Guard	16 May 1945	24 July 1947	Transferred to United States Coast Guard to replace the sunken USCGC Jackson (WSC-142). Renamed USCGC Jackson (WPC-120), she was berthed at Curtis Bay, Maryland, until decommission due to lack of crew. Sold to a commercial interest, 23 December 1947; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-859		United States Navy	10 March 1945	1947	Fate unknown
n/a	PCE-860		United States Navy	31 March 1945	April 1946	recommissioned as USCGC Bedloe (WPC-121)
n/a	PCE-867	Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon	United States Navy	20 June 1943	Unknown	Transferred to the Republic of China, 7 February 1948; damaged in action with Communist Chinese forces 14 November 1965 and later scrapped
n/a	PCE-868		United States Navy	31 August 1943	29 October 1947	Transferred to Mexico, 8 November 1947; sold for scrap, 1995
n/a	PCE-869		United States Navy	19 September 1943	1 July 1971	Transferred to Republic of China, 28 August 1945; fate unknown
Dania	PCE-870		United States Navy	5 October 1943	18 October 1946	Transferred to South Korea, 9 December 1961; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-871		United States Navy	29 October 1943	24 November 1947	Transferred to Mexico, 24 November 1947; sold for scrap, 1965
n/a	PCE-872		United States Navy	29 November 1943	Unknown	Transferred to Cuba, 1 October 1947; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-873		United States Navy	15 December 1943	1947	Transferred to South Korea, 1 November 1974; fate unknown
Pascagoula	PCE-874		United States Navy	31 December 1943	1 May 1959	Transferred to Ecuador, 5 December 1960; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-875		United States Navy	19 January 1944	Unknown	Transferred to Mexico, November 1947; fate unknown
Lodestone	PCE-876		United States Navy	10 June 1944	21 February 1975	Sold for scrap, 1 May 1976
Havre	PCE-877		United States Navy	14 February 1944	1 July 1970	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) in April 1954 and served on the Great Lakes until struck from Navy list 1 July 1970. Fate unknown.
Buttress	PCE-878		United States Navy	13 March 1944	24 February 1947	Sold to a commercial interest, 1952; sunk as a target, 1990s
Magnet	PCE-879		United States Navy	10 July 1944	1975	Sunk as a target 4 March 1976
Ely	PCE-880		United States Navy	29 April 1944	1 July 1970	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) in August 1947 and served on the Great Lakes. Transferred 3 September 1970 to the State of Maine (Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute) South Portland, ME and renamed R/V Aqualab II. Sold in 1972 to Kirks Marine Enterprise, Inc. of Dover, Delaware. Sold in 1975 to Norman Industries, Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana. Acquired in 1978 by Standard Products Co., Inc. of Kilmarnock, Virginia, and renamed Atlantic Mist. Acquired in 1989 by Ampro Fisheries, Inc. of Burgess, Virginia. Acquired by Omega Protein, Inc. of Moss Point, Mississippi. Sunk 16 January 2010 as part of an artificial reef approximately 26 miles southeast of Indian River Inlet, Delaware.
n/a	PCE-881		United States Navy	31 July 1944	Unknown	Transferred to the Philippines, July 1948; commissioned as BRP Cebu, decommissioned 1 Oct 2019
n/a	PCE-882		United States Navy	23 February 1945	Unknown	Transferred to South Korea, 1 November 1974; fate unknown
Deperm	PCE-883		United States Navy	1945	21 February 1975	Sunk as a target, 22 September 1982
n/a	PCE-884		United States Navy	30 March 1945	Unknown	Transferred to the Philippines, in June 1948; commissioned as BRP Negros Occidental, decommissioned 2010 Dec 9, equipment stripped for spares, hull sold for scrap
n/a	PCE-885		United States Navy	30 April 1945	Unknown	Transferred to the Philippines, 1 June 1948; commissioned as RPS Leyte, ran aground and sank, 1979
Banning	PCE-886		United States Navy	31 May 1945	1 May 1961	Became a museum ship, July 1961; sold to a commercial interest, 1972; sank, 1 October 1973
n/a	PCE-891	Willamette Iron and Steel Works, Portland, Oregon	United States Navy	15 June 1944	Unknown	Transferred to the Philippines, 1 June 1948; commissioned as BRP Pangasinan, decommissioned 2021 Mar 1. Sunk as a target on 26 April 2023 as part of the Balikatan 2023 exercise.[13]
Somerset	PCE-892		United States Navy	8 July 1944	March 1955	Transferred to South Korea, 13 December 1961; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-893		United States Navy	25 July 1944	20 November 1947	Transferred to Cuba, 20 November 1947; fate unknown
Farmington	PCE-894		United States Navy	10 August 1944	19 December 1947	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) in 1948 and served on the Great Lakes. Removed from Navy List on December 1, 1964. Transferred to Burma, 31 May 1965; sold for scrap, 2000
Crestview	PCE-895		United States Navy	30 October 1944	Unknown	Transferred to South Vietnam 29 November 1961; escaped to the Philippines, 1975; commissioned in PhN as BRP Sultan Kudarat, retired 2019 July 5
n/a	PCE-896		United States Navy	27 November 1944	Unknown	Transferred to South Korea, 1 November 1974; fate unknown
n/a	PCE-897		United States Navy	6 January 1945	Unknown	Transferred to the Philippines in April 1948; commissioned in PhN as BRP Iloilo, decommissioned 2016 Sep, equipment stripped for spares, hull awaiting disposal
n/a	PCE-898		United States Navy	24 January 1945	Unknown	Transferred to South Korea 1 November 1974; fate unknown
Lamar	PCE-899		United States Navy	17 March 1945	30 September 1969	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Milwaukee) on 13 December 1950 and served on the Great Lakes. Transferred to U.S. Coast Guard 29 July 1964. Arrived Monterey, California 14 December 1965 as training vessel. Decommissioned 30 September 1969. Sold as scrap to Foison Industries Corporation in Taiwan 8 November 1971.
Groton	PCE-900		United States Navy	12 April 1944	19 August 1955	Sold to a commercial interest, 1975; abandoned near Reedville, Virginia
Parris Island	PCE-901		United States Navy	30 October 1944	19 June 1947	Sold to a commercial interest, 20 January 1948; sold for scrap, 1990[14]
Portage	PCE-902		United States Navy	30 April 1945	1949	Transferred to United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Milwaukee) 7 May 1950 and served on the Great Lakes until struck from Navy list 1 July 1970. Sold to Standard Products Co., Inc. of Kilmarnock, Virginia, and renamed Atlantic Venture. Acquired in 1989 by Ampro Fisheries, Inc. of Burgess, Virginia. Fate unknown.
Batesburg	PCE-903		United States Navy	16 May 1945	6 September 1955	Transferred to South Korea, 13 December 1961; fate unknown
Gettysburg	PCE-904		United States Navy	31 May 1945	2 September 1955	Sold for scrap 23 June 1960

• List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy

• Friedman, Norman (1987). U.S. Small Combatants: Including PT-Boats, Subchasers and the Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-713-5.
• Elliott, Peter (1977). Allied Escort Ships of World War II: A complete survey. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-356-08401-9.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Lenton, H. T. (1974). American Gunboats and Minesweepers. WW2 Fact Files. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-356-08064-1.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PCE-827 class.

• http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/02idx.htm
• http://www.ww2pcsa.org/patrol-craft.html