USS Panther (IX-105) was SC-1466-class submarine chaser during the World War II. Her namesake is a black variant of jaguars or leopards.
Design and description
She has a displacement of 99 tons, length 111'6", beam 17'9", draft 5'6", speed 15 knots, complement 16. Her armaments consist of 2 2-pounders (dual purpose), 2 .30 caliber machine guns, 2 depth charge tracks, 1 depth charge projector (Y-gun).
Construction and career
The vessel was built at the Leblanc Shipbuilding Co. at Weymouth, Nova Scotia. She was laid down in 1942 and launched on 17 June 1942. The ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy by Lt. Cmdr. Freeborn of the Royal Canadian Navy and commissioned as submarine chaser SC-1470 at her building yard on 23 October 1942.
1942
SC-1470 got underway for Digby, Nova Scotia, at 15:16 on 27 October 1942, but paused briefly alongside the Weymouth North Government Wharf to await her sister ship SC-1471, after which time she resumed her passage out of Weymouth. The new submarine chaser carried out gunnery trials on the 30th, expending 25 rounds of 2-pounder ammunition, two 300-pound depth charges, one Y-gun impulse charge, seven Holman projector grenades, and two hand flares. She reached Digby the next day.
Underway for the Boston Navy Yard at 10:30 on 31 October 1942, again in company with SC-1471, the two vessels became separated during the trip, necessitating SC-1470’s firing a flare and three rounds of 2-pounder ammunition “to enable her to locate us.” SC-1471 regained position at 08:52 on 1 November. Almost an hour into the afternoon watch, SC-1470 moored alongside SC-1463 at the Boston Navy Yard's South Boston Annex. The next afternoon, the submarine chaser shifted to another pier, alongside an ammunition lighter to which she transferred booster charges, Holman grenades and impulse cartridges for their projectors, depth charges, pistols, 2-pounder shells, impulse charges, signal flares and arbors, returning thence to her previous mooring.
Completing her fitting-out period on 23 November 1942, the vessel was rearmed at Boston, with U.S. 3-inch/23 caliber guns replacing the British 2-pounder weapons with which she had been equipped. SC-1470 got underway on 30 November to conduct structural firing trials. She expended three Mk. VII depth charges, four rounds of 3-inch/23 caliber, and 75 rounds of 20 millimeter before the port Oerlikon jammed after 40 rounds and the barrel could not be removed.
Having reported to Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet (ComInCh) and Commander Eastern Sea Frontier for shakedown and onwards routing on 2 December 1942, SC-1470 continued fitting out at Boston until 4 December, when she sailed four minutes into the forenoon watch in company with SC-1471 and SC-766, bound for Tompkinsville, Staten Island. Proceeding via the Cape Cod Canal, she reached New Bedford harbor later that afternoon, remaining there until the following morning, when she sailed for Port Jefferson harbor, reaching her destination at 18:00 and mooring alongside SC-766 at the ferry docks there. SC-1470 ultimately reached Tompkinsville shortly after mid-day on 6 December.
1943
After undergoing alterations at Tompkinsville through mid-January 1943, SC-1470 sailed on 21 January in accordance with Commander Eastern Sea Frontier orders to proceed to Miami, Florida, in company with SC-1471 and report to the commanding officer of the Submarine Chaser Training Center (SCTC). Upon completing her shakedown, SC-1470 was then to report to Commander Gulf Sea Frontier for onward routing to the Caribbean.
Pausing to fuel at the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 January 1943, SC-1470 and SC-1471 continued on, encountering heavy fog off Frying Pan Shoals late on the 24th. Lt. Parker ordered engines slowed to two-thirds speed, stationed a lookout in the eyes of the ship, and had the navigation lights turned on. Eventually, shortly before the start of the mid watch, the fog cleared enough for the ships to resume standard speed. Stopping again, at the Section Base at Charleston, late on 25 January, SC-1470 resumed her coastwise passage after a brief fog-induced delay the following morning. She fueled at the Section Base at Mayport, on the morning of the 27th, and stood into the swept channel at Miami at 16:10 on the 28th.