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NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Escort
Photo Archive

PCE-873
ex-PCE(C)-873
ex-PCE-873



Call sign:
November - Zulu - Lima - Oscar


PCE-873 served the Navies of the United States and South Korea.
PCE-842 Class Patrol Escort:

  • Laid down 6 February 1943 by Albina Engine and Machine Works, Portland, OR
  • Launched 5 May 1943
  • Commissioned USS PCE-873, 15 December 1943
  • Reclassified as a Control Submarine Chaser, PCE(C)-873, 20 August 1945
  • Reclassified back to a Patrol Craft Escort, PCE-873
  • Transferred to South Korea 1 November 1974 and named Han San (PCEC 53)
  • Struck from the Naval Register 15 November 1974
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 850 t
  • Length 184' 6"
  • Beam 33' 1"
  • Draft 9' 5"
  • Speed 15.7 kts.
  • Complement 99
    1949 - 65
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose mount, three twin 40mm and two 20mm mounts
  • Propulsion two 1,800bhp General Motors 12-567A diesel engines, Falk single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS PCE-873
    PCE-873 84k 24 August 1944 Robert Hurst
    USS PCE(C)-873
    PCE-873 129k David Wright
    PCE-873 283k Frederick J. Moisson
    Collection Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
    Museum of Military History
    Kissimmee, Florida
    PCE-873 247k
    PCE-873 364k 27 October 1946
    Eureka Shipyard, Newburgh, NY
    PCE-873 323k
    PCE-873 351k
    PCE-873 204k Closeup of above plaque
    PCE-873 263k c. July 1949
    Off Little Creek, VA participating in the 1949 NROTC Training Program    		 Steve Hatchett
    Photo added 24 January 2022
    PCE-873 313k c. October 1950
    Newspaper article showing Richard C. Seitz at the helm of PCE-873    		 Mark D. Seitz
    PCE-873 209k Richard C. Seitz painting the Battle Efficiency "E" on the ships bridge wing
    PCE-873 73k U.S. Navy photo from the August 1954 edition of All Hands magazine Original photo: Joe Radigan
    Replacement photo: Tommy Trampp
    Han San (PCEC 53)
    PCE-873 123k c. 1974
    Still flying her U.S. Navy call sign and wearing her South Korean hull number
    South Korean Navy photo from Jane's Fighting Ships    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01LT Milton W. Nosek, USNR15 December 1943 - December 1944
    02LT Henry C. Ikenberry, Jr., USNRDecember 1944 - 1 September 1945
    03LT Samuel S. Binnian, USNR1 September 1945 - December 1945
    04LTJG Paul F. House, USNRDecember 1945 - March 1946
    05LT George H. Kronenberg, USNRMarch 1946 - July 1946
    06LT Harold Harland Hueter, USNRJuly 1946 - September 1946
    07LTJG Charles H. Middleton, USNRSeptember 1946 - January 1947
    08ENS Fred Winfred Coulter, USNRJanuary 1947
    09ENS Charles Virgel Wilhoit, Jr., USN - USNA Class of 1946January 1948 - May 1948
    10LTJG Lawrence Herman Baker, Jr., USNMay 1948
    11LT Marion Lowell Bohgren, USN1949
    12LT William Prather Ferguson, USN - USNA Class of 1945January 1953
    ??LT Robert Martin Collins, USN - Awarded two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit with Combat "V", three Bronze Stars with Combat "V", four Purple Hearts, seven Air Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" and the Combat Action Ribbon
    Retired as Rear Admiral
    Courtesy of Wolfgang Hechler, Joe Radigan and Tom Nosek
    There is no DANFS History currently available for PCE-873
    Additional Resources and Websites of Interest
    Patrol Craft Sailors Association
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Index Back to the Patrol Craft Escort (PCE) Photo Index
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by Tom Bateman
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