7068 USS ERIE (PG-50) GUNBOAT 1942

USS Erie (PG-50) was an American gunboat from the interwar period and World War II. The keel for this unit was laid in 1934, a the launch took place in February 1936. Entry into service with the US Navy took place in July 1936. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 100.1 meters and a width of 12.6 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 2,800 tons, and the maximum speed was approx. 20 knots. The unit had on-board armament such as: four 150 mm cannons, two 47 mm cannons or 6 single 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons. The unit had aviation equipment in the form of a single Curtiss Seagull or Vought Kingfisher seaplane. The USS Erie (PG-50), along with the twin ship USS Charleston (PG-51), were built to protect US interests in the Caribbean and South America in peacetime. Both ships were large units with armament equal to some destroyers of the then fleets. Until the United States joined the Second World War, USS Erie was a training ship, protected the Panama Canal and made patrol cruises in the Caribbean Sea. At the end of 1941 he was in the Pacific, but in June the following year he returned to the Atlantic and took part in the protection of convoys passing through the Caribbean Sea. In November 1942, it was seriously damaged by the German U-163 submarine. During the attempt to tow it to the port for repairs, the unit overturned and sank on December 5, 1942.