USS PC-1264
USS PC-1264 was a built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was one of only two U.S. Navy ships to have a predominantly African-American enlisted complement during the war, the other being the .
PC-1264 was in service for less than two years, but the performance of her crew—and of USS Masons—led the U.S. Navy to reevaluate its perception of African Americans as members of the fleet. Although sold for scrapping, the ship remains at the Donjon Marine Yard in Rossville, Staten Island, New York.
Career
USS PC-1264 was laid down at Consolidated Shipbuilding Company in Morris Heights, Bronx, New York, on 7 October 1943 and launched on 28 November 1943. PC-1264 was a United States Navy. This patrol class of submarine chaser was intended to intercept and destroy German U-boats stationed off the coast of the United States. Less expensive and faster to build than destroyers or even destroyer escorts, and requiring smaller crews, they quickly filled an important need for coastal convoy protection and anti-submarine warfare.PC-1264 was commissioned in April 1944 and decommissioned in February 1946, serving a little less than 22 months as a U.S. Navy fighting ship.
Segregated ships
On 9 December 1941, the NAACP sent a telegram to Frank Knox, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, asking that African Americans be accepted into the navy in other than the messman branch. This request was refused. A 17 December letter from the NAACP to President Roosevelt resulted in the president turning the matter over to Mark Ethridge, chairman of the Fair Employment Practices Committee. This committee also received a negative response from the Navy Department. The president then sent a note to Secretary Knox stating:I think that with all the Navy activities, BUNAV might find something that colored enlistees could do in addition to the rating of messman.
The navy's General Board, the group charged with the formulation of navy policy, countered with a suggestion that African Americans either be enlisted as messmen, or, "...if this proved not feasible," for general service. The problem was that the navy believed that integrated units would disrupt discipline aboard ships, entirely ignoring the fact that integrated crews had worked successfully aboard U.S. Navy ships during the American Civil War. The president responded, agreeing that "...to go the whole way in one fell swoop would seriously impair the general average efficiency of the Navy," but still felt that something could be worked out. On 27 March 1942, the Board replied, "The General Board fully recognizes, and appreciates the social and economic problems involved, and has striven to reconcile these requirements with what it feels must be paramount at any consideration, namely the maintenance at the highest level of the fighting efficiency of the Navy...", adding that "...if so ordered.." Negro units could be used "...with least disadvantage..." in shore establishments, local defense vessels, construction units and selected Coast Guard cutters.
On 7 April, the president 'so ordered,' and the navy announced that—beginning on 1 June—Negroes could enlist for the general service. As a result, the groundwork was laid for establishing African-American crews on USS Mason and USS PC-1264.
Commanding officers and POs
White officer Lieutenant Eric S. Purdon served as PC-1264s commanding officer from her commissioning on 25 April 1944 until 17 September 1945. He was replaced by his engineering officer, Lieutenant Ernest V. Hardman, who served as skipper until 31 October 1945. The third commanding officer was Lieutenant Jack W. Sutherland who came aboard on 31 October and helped decommission PC-1264 on 7 February 1946.From that point, until PC-1264 was out of service, she was in the charge of African American Ensign Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. Ensign Gravely had first reported aboard on 2 May 1945, and, at the time of the ship's decommissioning, was serving as her executive officer. PC-1264 was the first sailing assignment of future Admiral Gravely, the first African American to attain that rank.
In addition to the all-white officer complement, until the day Ensign Gravely reported aboard, eight white navy Petty Officers, one in each specialty required on PC-1264, were also assigned to the ship. Their job was to train the African-American crew until Lt. Purdon considered some of the men expert enough in their specialty to rate promotion to petty officer. Months later, when eight African-American crewmen were promoted in their specialties, the white petty officers were transferred. This made PC-1264 the only U.S. Navy ship with a completely African-American crew, as USS Mason never replaced its white petty officers with African Americans.
Training incidents
On 30 April 1944, after four days of intensive drills, PC-1264 went up the Hudson River to Iona Island to load ammunition for her guns for the first time. After loading, Lt. Purdon expected to moor there for the night, but was not allowed due to the danger from the large amount of ammunition stored there. Looking for a berth for the night, he called the duty office of the nearby U.S. Military Academy at West Point to ask if his ship could tie up at its pier. There was some confusion, as no Navy ship had tied up there in recent history. However, PC-1264, with its mostly African-American crew was made welcome, and numerous visitors walked along the dock inspecting her. In addition, the U.S. Army provided two buses, and many of the enlisted crewmen were taken on a tour of the academy under the guidance of knowledgeable sergeants.Unfortunately for PC-1264, a number of other U.S. Navy bases and towns where the ship moored during its tour of duty did not extend the same hospitality as West Point. Especially in the southern United States, PC-1264s crew experienced various degrees of racial intolerance. For example, although most U.S. Navy seamen from nearby training facilities took their swimming tests off a pier at the municipal public beach at Miami Beach, on the day the crew of PC-1264 was supposed to qualify, the city of Miami Beach refused the use of its public beach for the training of Negroes.
At the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami, the civilian guards at the gate often took a long time inspecting the crew's ID cards and passes when the men were entering and leaving the base, far longer than the time spent inspecting white seamen. Then one day, this suddenly stopped. It took some time before the officers of PC-1264 were able to discover why. At a local bar, white seamen of another anti-submarine patrol craft had overheard civilians talking about going down to the base to shoot up the "nigger ship." These seamen returned to base, armed themselves with rifles and pistols without authorization and went to the gate to wait. When the nervous civilian guards asked what they were doing, the white seamen explained. After that the officers and crew of PC-1264 noticed that racial harassment at this base decreased significantly.
Shakedown cruise
After loading ammunition at Iona Island and leaving West Point, the ship sailed to Fort Lafayette to load depth charges. Then it reported to the United States Naval Frontier Base at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, which became the PC-1264s home port. This base cared for the escort ships that accompanied convoys to many destinations. Once at Tompkinsville, the ship's crew continued training and calibrating their equipment, especially the ship's radio direction finder. Besides checking the structural strength of the hull and target practice on the range at Sandy Hook, the ship went through many other tests before going to sea for the first time. Finally, PC-1264 was ready for its shakedown cruise to the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami, Florida.Upon arrival at Miami, the shakedown inspectors gave the ship and crew a rough going over for several days. However, the crew was jubilant when the ship received a glowing report. Leaving soon after on its first independent cruise, at about 10:35 am the ship encountered engine trouble and was stopped dead in the water far from land. After some delay, a naval tug returned the ship to post after midnight.
On 2 July 1944, the ship's shakedown cruise and post-inspection was completed. PC-1264 was then ordered to a three and a half-days' exercise at the Fleet Sound School in Key West. However, as far as the Submarine Chaser Training Center was concerned, PC-1264 was ready. Fifteen members of the crew also received the ship's first promotions.
Escort duty
After completing Fleet Sound School, PC-1264 returned to New York and reported for duty on 10 July 1944. She was assigned to Task Unit 02.9, a surface escort group based at the Naval Frontier Base, Staten Island. In the months ahead, PC-1264 would escort convoys from New York to Cuba or Key West and back again, or from Charleston, South Carolina to New York. She escorted the from New York to Key West so that U.S. air and sea anti-submarine forces would not confuse Argo with a German submarine. PC-1264 would also serve in the role of an "enemy destroyer" to provide submarines with anti-escort training, which also gave additional anti-submarine training to PC-1264s crew.Its first convoy duty was Convoy NG-448, from New York to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On 21 July sonar indicated a large unidentified object nearby and, acting on standard anti-submarine procedures, PC-1264 engaged the contact for three hours before leaving to rejoin the convoy, which was now safely out of range. Afterwards, she regularly escorted convoys from New York to Key West and back again.
In September 1944, the engineering section discovered a series of cracks between the engine mounts and bedplates that were welded to the ship's hull. These bedplates distributed the engine's weight along the hull. Base engineering confirmed that poor welding during construction was responsible for the cracks. The base engineer also stated that a heavy sea could shift the engines off their supports and sink the ship. As a result, PC-1264 was relieved from duty and towed to the Navy Yard Annex, at Bayonne, New Jersey. This may have saved the lives of the crew, as the convoy they were preparing to escort later encountered a hurricane with heavy seas. In all probability, PC-1264 would have been lost.
After the ship was repaired and passed sea trials, PC-1264 reported again to its Tompkinsville base. It was there, during the first week of November, that the eight white Petty Officers received orders detaching them from PC-1264, and their places were taken by eight, newly promoted, black Petty Officers.