USS Sheboygan (PF-57) was a Tacoma-class frigate of the United States Navy which was later transferred to the Belgian Navy as Lieutenant ter zee Victor Billet.

USS Sheboygan
Luitenant ter zee Victor Billet
Luitenant ter zee Victor Billet in Belgian service
History
United States
NameSheboygan
NamesakeCity of Sheboygan, Wisconsin
BuilderGlobe Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin
Laid down17 April 1943
Launched31 July 1943
Commissioned26 May 1944
Decommissioned1 June 1944
Recommissioned14 October 1944
Decommissioned9 August 1946
IdentificationPF-57
FateSold to Belgium, 19 March 1947
Belgium
NameLuitenant ter zee Victor Billet
Acquired19 March 1947
Stricken1957
IdentificationF 910
Fate
  • Converted to training hulk, 1958
  • Scrapped, 1959
General characteristics
Class and typeTacoma-class frigate
Displacement1,264 long tons (1,284 t)
Length303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × 5,500 shp (4,101 kW) turbines
  • 3 boilers
  • 2 shafts
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement190
Armament

Construction

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Sheboygan was laid down on 17 April 1943, under a Maritime Commission contract by the Globe Shipbuilding Company at Superior, Wisconsin; sponsored by Mrs. Willard M. Sonnenburg; and placed in reduced commission at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 26 May 1944, with Lieutenant Commander A. J. Carpenter, USCG, in command. It is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Service history

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Ordered to Tampa, Florida, for conversion to a weather patrol ship, Sheboygan was decommissioned on 1 June. On 14 October 1944, she was recommissioned. Shakedown in Bermuda followed; and on 21 February, the frigate arrived at NS Argentia, Newfoundland, for weather patrol duty.

As a Navy ship, she performed weather and plane guard patrols in the North Atlantic, broken by periods of upkeep in Naval Station Argentia, and Boston, Massachusetts, until transferred to the United States Coast Guard on 14 March 1946. Her work in the North Atlantic, however, continued until she was decommissioned on 9 August 1946.

She was sold on 19 March 1947 to Belgium and served in the Belgian Navy as Luitenant ter zee Victor Billet until converted to a stationary training hulk in 1958, and was scrapped in 1959.

References

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  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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