Each ship of the PCER-848 class was an armed rescue ship built on the hull of the PCE (Patrol Craft Escort) by the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois. The ships were to serve three missions: damage control / firefighting; casualty treatment / evacuation; and patrol / guardship. Each ship's hospital contained 65 beds, with a surgical suite, and X-ray facilities. The medical department consisted of a staff of 11 doctors and hospital corpsmen.
Three ships of the class—PCER-848, -849 and -850—were refitted and their hospital spaces converted into communications centers to support the US Army's activities in the Pacific Theater.[1]
On 17 July 1957, three crew members were killed and eight were injured (four seriously) by an explosion when the ship was approximately 90 miles (140 km) southeast of Montauk, New York.[8][9] The blast was attributed to the premature detonation of explosives used for underwater sound tests.[8] The four seriously injured crew members were transferred to the nearby RMS Queen Mary, which was en route from New York City to England, and later transported to Newport, Rhode Island, by the USS Sunbird.[10][9] One injured seaman had to have his left leg amputated.[9] The Navy later issued dereliction of duty letters to the ship's commander and gunnery officer.[11]
In 1959, the ship was reclassified as EPCE(R)-849, an Experimental Patrol Craft Escort (Rescue).[3] The ship was decommissioned in September 1965 and was struck from the naval register on 1 April 1966.[3] It was later sold, and then scrapped in 1972 at Portsmouth, Virginia.[3]
Legacy
USS Somersworth Park is located in the city that the ship was named for—Somersworth, New Hampshire—at the intersection of Main Street and Market Street.[12] A memorial to crew members who served on the ship is located in Stein Park on Main Street.[13]
On July 17, 2004, a reunion of 32 personnel who had served on the ship, including four former captains, was held in Somersworth.[14]
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