USS Covington (PF-56)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Covington and BAE Guayas.

USS Covington (PF-56)
History
United States
NameCovington
NamesakeCity of Convington, Kentucky
BuilderGlobe Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin
Laid down1 March 1943
Launched15 July 1943
Commissioned17 October 1944
Decommissioned16 March 1946
Fateloaned to US Coast Guard, 16 March 1946
Acquiredreturned from US Coast Guard, 17 September 1946
StrickenApril 1947
FateSold to Ecuador, 28 August 1947
United States
NameCovington
Commissioned16 March 1946
Decommissioned17 September 1946
FateReturned to US Navy, 17 September 1946
Ecuador
NameGuayas
Acquired28 August 1947
Decommissioned1972
Stricken1974
General characteristics
Class and typeTacoma-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,430 long tons (1,453 t) light
  • 2,415 long tons (2,454 t) full
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

USS Covington (PF-56), a Tacoma-class frigate, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Covington, Kentucky. Covington, with a United States Coast Guard crew, served as a weather ship off Newfoundland through early 1946. She was decommissioned in April 1946 and turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard and commissioned the same day as USCGC Covington (PF-56) and remained in service through September. She was returned to the U.S. Navy at that time and placed in reserve. In April 1947, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and, in August, sold to the Ecuadorian Navy. As BAE Guayas (E-21), she served as the flagship of the Ecuadorian Navy from her acquisition through 1967. She was decommissioned in 1972 and stricken in 1974.