USS Surprise (PG-63)

The third USS "Surprise" and fourth American naval ship of the name was a "Temptress" class patrol gunboat that served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945. "Surprise" was launched on 5 June 1940 as corvette HMS "Heliotrope" by John Crown and Sons, Ltd., Sunderland, England, and was transferred to the U.S. Navy at Hull, England, on 24 March 1942, one of a group of corvettes transferred to the U.S. Navy under reverse Lend-Lease. She was commissioned as USS "Surprise" (PG-63) the same day, Lieutenant R. C. D. Hunt, Jr., in command. She was delivered with British radars and armament installed, and over the course of her U.S. Navy service was gradually converted to U.S. standards. The 4-inch (102-mm) gun was mounted forward, the 3-inch (76.2-mm) gun aft. ["Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946", p. 156] "Surprise" sailed from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on 24 April 1942 to escort a convoy to Boston, Massachusetts. After an overhaul, she proceeded south and for the remainder of 1942 escorted Caribbean convoys, principally between Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In January 1943, she extended her range into the South Atlantic and, into 1944, performed escort runs between Trinidad and Recife, Brazil. "Surprise" then returned to the United States. In May 1944, she returned to the North Atlantic and, until after the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, rotated between Newfoundland, Greenland, and Iceland convoy runs and weather patrol duty.

"Surprise" was decommissioned on 20 August 1945 at Chatham, England, returned to the Royal Navy on 26 August 1945, and struck from the Navy List on 17 September 1945.

She was transferred to Nationalist China in 1947, ["Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946", p. 156] and, after a period of mercantile service, she was taken into the Communist Chinese Navy as "Lin I".

Notes

References

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* Chesneau, Roger, ed. "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946". New York: Mayflower Books, 1980. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.