Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945
PYc-8 USS Opal
- Patrol Craft (Converted Yacht):
- Displacement: 495 tons
- Length: 180'
- Beam:
- Draft:
- Speed: ? knots
- Armament: 2 3"/50, 4 50mm AA, 300 pound depth charges
- Propulsion: twin Krupt diesel engines; shaft horsepower: 800
- Built at Kiel, Germany in 1928 and commissioned as SS Coronet .
Acquired in 1940 for $50,000 and converted at Merrill-Stevens Dry Dock Co., Miami, FL.
Commissioned as USS Opal May 1941
Additional Links:
History:
Approximately July 1941 the Opal was rammed by a Canadian Cruiser off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Slight damage to the starboard flying bridge and repairs were made in a San Juan dry-dock. At the time of Pearl Harbor Opal, along withTurquoise (PY-18), and Yard Patrol Craft YP-63 and YP-64 constituted the entire Naval force of N.O.B. Trinidad. Opal conducted anti-submarine patrols in the southern Caribbean as far west as the Dutch West Indies, performing many search and rescue operations which saved hundreds of merchant sailors. Following Pearl Harbor, she operated with convoys between Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. In 1942 the Opal was completely overhauled in the Charleston Naval Shipyard, after which she continued duties in the Caribbean.
Opal was decommissioned in the Canal Zone on 7 Oct 1943 and transferred to Ecuador under Lend-Lease.
Information obtained from correspondence with CWO Howard A. Miller, USN (ret.), former member of the Opal's crew during her entire service.
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Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45: Patrol Craft
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Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45
Last updated:
July 25, 1997
