USS Hingham

History
United States
Name	USS Hingham
Namesake	Hingham, Massachusetts
Launched	27 August 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Katherine F. Harrington
Commissioned	3 November 1944
Decommissioned	5 June 1946
Fate	Sold 15 August 1947 and scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Tacoma-class frigate
Displacement	1,264 tons
Length	303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft	13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion	Three boilers; 2 × 5,500 SHP turbines; two shafts;
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement	190
Armament	3 × 3 in/50 AA guns (3×1); 4 × 40 mm guns (2×2); 9 × 20 mm guns (9×1);; 1 × Hedgehog projector; 8 × Y-gun depth charge projectors; 2 × depth charge racks;

USS Hingham (PF-30), a Tacoma-class frigate, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Hingham, Massachusetts. Hingham, originally designated PG-138, was launched under Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Company in Superior, Wisconsin, on 27 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine F. Harrington; and commissioned on 3 November 1944 after outfitting at Plaquemine, Louisiana. Her first commanding officer was Lieutenant Commander W. K. Earle, USCG.

Following shakedown training out of Bermuda, Hingham finished conversion to a weather ship at Boston, Massachusetts, and after escorting a merchant ship from NS Argentia, Newfoundland, to Boston reported on 3 January 1945 to the North Atlantic Weather Patrol. The ship then took up the arduous duties of weather patrol in the North Atlantic during winter, performing the task of reporting so vital to convoying and warship movements alike. She remained on station after the close of World War II, returning to Boston on 4 May 1946.

Hingham then sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, where she was decommissioned on 5 June 1946. The frigate was sold on 15 August 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania, and scrapped.

References