USS Muskogee (PF-49), a , was the only ship of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 to be named for Muskogee, Oklahoma

Muskogee, Oklahoma

Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....

.

Muskogee (PF-49) was laid down on 18 September 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corporation

Consolidated Steel Corporation

Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...

, Wilmington, California; launched on 18 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. S. B. Hudson, wife of the mayor of Muskogee; and commissioned on 16 March 1944, Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 Rufus E. Mroczkowski, USCG, in command.

World War II, 1944-1945

After training and exercises off the California coast, Muskogee departed San Pedro, California, on 18 June 1944 for Nouméa

Nouméa

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...

, where she arrived on 18 July for patrol and escort duty from Nouméa and, after its capture, Humboldt Bay, New Guinea. Anti-submarine patrol and screening for ships operating around New Guinea were her primary duties into October. On 18 October she got underway screening the second reinforcement group bound for newly invaded Leyte

Leyte Island

Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...

, arriving in San Pedro Bay

San Pedro Bay (Philippines)

San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...

 on 24 October to screen transports and supply ships under numerous enemy air attacks while waiting for a group of empty LSTs to form up for the return passage. As her convoy retired on the 26th, it was again attacked, and Muskogee joined in downing several enemy aircraft. A second escort voyage to Leyte in early November was less eventful.

Concluding her New Guinea patrols, Muskogee arrived in Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 on 15 December, then reported at Dutch Harbor on 12 January 1945 for similar duty in the Aleutians. On 6 July she cleared Adak

Adak, Alaska

Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...

 for repairs at Seattle, returning to Alaska to decommission at Cold Bay

Cold Bay, Alaska

Cold Bay is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.Cold Bay is one of the main commercial centers of the Alaska Peninsula, and is home to Cold Bay Airport.-History:...

 on 26 August 1945.

Soviet Navy, 1945–1949

Leased to the Russian Government on 27 August 1945, she was returned to U.S. custody on 1 November 1949 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Korean Navy, 1950 onwards

Loaned to South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

on 23 October 1950 and commissioned as Duman (PF-61). The ship was transferred outright to South Korea under the Security Assistance Program on 1 October 1973. Its fate remains unknown.

External links

• hazegray.org: USS Muskogee