 USS Charlottesville in 1948
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Charlottesville |
| Namesake | City of Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Reclassified | PF-25, 15 April 1943 |
| Builder | Walter Butler Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin |
| Laid down | 12 May 1943 |
| Launched | 30 July 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. J. E. Gleason |
| Commissioned | 10 April 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 12 July 1945 |
| Honors and awards | 2 battle stars, World War II |
| Fate | Transferred to the Soviet Navy, 12 July 1945[1] |
| Acquired | Returned by Soviet Navy, 17 October 1949 |
| Fate | Transferred to Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, 14 January 1953 |
 Soviet Union | |
| Name | EK-1 |
| Acquired | 12 July 1945[1] |
| Commissioned | 12 July 1945[1] |
| Fate | Returned to United States, 17 October 1949 |
 Japan | |
| Name | Matsu |
| Acquired | 14 January 1953 |
| Renamed | YAS-36, 31 March 1966 |
| Reclassified | Auxiliary service vessel (YAS) 31 March 1966 |
| Decommissioned | 31 March 1969 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Tacoma-class frigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 303 ft 11 in (92.63 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft 11 in (11.56 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 190 |
| Armament |
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USS Charlottesville (PF-25), a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1944 to 1945, has been the only US Navy ship thus far to be named for Charlottesville, Virginia. She later served in the Soviet Navy as EK-1 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Matsu (PF-6), JDS Matsu (PF-286) and YAS-36.
- ^ a b c The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Charlottesville article states that Charlottesville was transferred on 13 July 1945 and NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive Charlottesville (PF 25) ex-PG-133 and hazegray.org Charlottesville both repeat this, but Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997, ISBN 0-945274-35-1, p. 39, which includes access to Soviet-era records unavailable during the Cold War, reports that the transfer date was 12 July 1945. As sources, Russell cites Department of the Navy, Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels Volume II, 1 January 1949, (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Washington, DC: Bureau of Ships, 1949; and Berezhnoi, S. S., Flot SSSR: Korabli i suda lendliza: Spravochnik ("The Soviet Navy: Lend-Lease Ships and Vessels: A Reference"), St. Petersburg, Russia: Belen, 1994. According to Russell, Project Hula ships were decommissioned by the U.S. Navy simultaneously with their transfer to the Soviet Navy – see photo captions on p. 24 regarding the transfers of various large infantry landing craft (LCI(L)s) and information on p. 27 about the transfer of USS Coronado (PF-38), which Russell says typified the transfer process – indicating that Charlottesville's U.S. Navy decommissioning, transfer, and Soviet Navy commissioning all occurred simultaneously on 12 July 1945.