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Submarine Chaser Photo Archive

Sturdy (PYc 50)



Call sign for Sturdy:
Nan - Yoke - Fox - Zebra

ex-PC-460



Avalanche call sign (1930):
Mike - Hypo - Quack - Tare

Elda call sign (1935):
King - Love - Negative - Vice
PC-460 Class Submarine Chaser/Coastal Patrol Yacht:

  • The second Sturdy was built in 1930 as the yacht Elda by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, NY for Stockbroker Anson Wales Hard, Jr. of New York, NY
  • Renamed Avalanche
  • Acquired in 1935 by Arthur V. Davis of New York and renamed Elda
  • Acquired by the Navy 13 September 1940
  • Converted to Naval service at the New York Navy Yard
  • Commissioned USS PC-460, 16 October 1940
  • Accidently rammed and sank the submarine S 26 ((SS 131), 24 January 1942 in the Gulf of Panama at 08º13'N, 79º21'E; approximately 14 miles west of San Jose Light. PC-460 rescued three survivors.
    Despite a search by PC-460 and the other three submarines in company, S 21 (SS 126), S 29 (SS 134 and S 44 (SS 155, no other survivors were found; 46 men lost their lives in the mishap. PC-460 had sent a visual message to the submarines that she was leaving the formation and that they could proceed on the duty assigned. S-21 was the only boat to receive the message
  • Reclassified as a Coastal Patrol Yacht and named USS Sturdy (PYc-50), 15 July 1943
  • Decommissioned 20 November 1944
  • Struck from the Naval Register 27 November 1944
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal in August 1945
  • Acquired 13 March 1946 by the Marcross Corp. of Miami, FL and renamed Elda and operated 16 August 1946 under the Honduran flag
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 380 t.
  • Length 154'
  • Beam 24'
  • Draft 8' 6"
  • Speed 17 kts.
  • Propulsion: Two six-cylinder Winton diesel engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PC-460 72k c. 1943
    U.S. Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan
    PC-460 67k Bob Daly/PC-1181
    PC-460 158k National Archives photo Original photo: Bob Daly/PC-1181
    Replacement photo: Dan Treadwell
    Winton Diesels 111k Engine room. Bob Daly/PC-1181
    PC-460 131k 22 May 1943
    Mobile, AL
    After completion of repairs from submarine collision
    National Archives photos    		 Dan Treadwell
    PC-460 195k
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR Thomas M. Sheridan, USNR16 October 1940
    02LCDR James R. Keeling, USNR15 July 1943 - 20 November 1944
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the Sturdy (PYc 50)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Patrol Craft Sailors Association
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Type Index Back to the Submarine Chaser (PC) Photo Index Back to the Coastal Patrol Yacht (PYc) Photo Index
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    This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Tom Bateman
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