USS PC-603

{{Infobox ship
|image=PC603.jpg|300px
|caption=USS PC-603, a PC-461 class submarine chaser
|name=USS PC-603
|builder=Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, NY
|laid down=9 May 1942
|launched=30 June 1942
|sponsor=Mrs. J. H. Keatley
|commissioned=1 October 1942
|decommissioned=8 January 1947
|struck=1 July 1960
|reinstated=
|renamed=USS Solvay, 15 February 1956
|honours=
|fate=
|status=
|notes=
|class=PC-461
|type=Sub Chaser
|displacement=450 tons fully loaded
|length=173 ft
|beam=23 ft
|draught=
|draft=10 ft 10 in
|propulsion=2 x  2,880bhp Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8 diesel engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts.
|speed=20&nbsp;knots
|range=
|complement=65
|sensors=
|EW=
|armament=one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, one single 40mm gun mount, two 20mm guns, two depth charge projectiles, two depth charge tracks
|armour=None
|armor=
|aircraft=
|aircraft facilities=
|notes=
}}



'''USS ''PC-603''''' was a '''PC-461 class''' subchaser assigned to the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet during World War II. 

The ''PC-603'' was laid down on [[May 9]], [[1942]] at the [[Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp.]], Morris Heights, New York. She was launched [[June 30]] sponsored by Mrs. J. H. Keatley; and was commissioned on [[October 1]], [[1942]].

During October and November of 1942, ''PC-603'' conducted shakedown in the Atlantic along the southeastern coast of the United States and escorted coastal convoys between the Virginia Capes and Key West, Fla. She visited Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 29 November and Kingston, Jamaica, on the following day, before heading for Panama, The submarine chaser transited the canal on 5 December, stopped at San Diego from the 13th to the 18th, and reported for duty to the Commander, Northwestern Sea Frontier, at Seattle, Wash., on the 21st.

After almost four months at Seattle, she headed north on 11 April 1943. ''PC-603'' made Kodiak, Alaska, on the 14th ; and, for the next seven months, escorted convoys and patrolled the cold waters surrounding the Aleutian Islands. Her most frequent ports of call were at Attu, Adak, and Amchitka, though she also visited Dutch Harbor, Shemya, and Kiska. On 29 November, ''PC-603'' departed Adak and headed south. She entered Pearl Harbor on 8 December and spent the remainder of the war and the succeeding nine months assigned to the Hawaiian Sea Frontier. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor through 26 May 1944; then moved to Midway Island until December. She returned to Pearl Harbor in early January 1945 and operated between the major islands of the Hawaiian group until 10 May 1946, when she headed for the west coast.

Following a month at San Pedro, Calif., she headed south along the coast on 15 June and transited the Panama Canal at the end of the month. ''PC-603'' continued her voyage and made Norfolk, Va., on 8 July. On 29 August, she departed Norfolk in the tow of Kiowa (''AT F-72'') and reached Philadelphia the following evening to begin duty in the 4th Naval District. On 8 January 1947, ''PC-603'' was decommissioned at Philadelphia and was placed in service with the Naval Reserve Training Program. Operating along the length of the eastern seaboard and occasionally in the Caribbean Sea, the submarine chaser continued this assignment until October 1949. On the 15th, she was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet ; and, on the 26th, she reported to the Norfolk Group. On 1 February 1956, ''PC-603'' was named Solvay. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1960, and the disposal of her hulk was approved on 15 March 1961.

==Known Crew==
*Commander P.M. Flagg, Captain
*Higgins, Executive Officer
*Ensign Hooper
*Chief Machinist's Mate McFarland (member of the ''PC-603's'' nucleus crew)
*First Class Machinist's Mate Endicott (member of the ''PC-603's'' nucleus crew)
*Second Class Machinist's Mate [[Carl LeRoy Wilhelm|C. L. Wilhelm]] 
*Dodd
*Stone
*Price

==Images==

<gallery caption="Crew of the USS PC-603">
Image:CdrFlagg.jpg|Commander Flagg
Image:Price_McFarland.png|Price and Chief McFarland
Image:McFarland_Hooper.png|Chief McFarland and Ensign Hooper
Image:Endicott.png|Endicott
Image:Dodd.png|Dodd
Image:Stone.png|Stone
Image:Roy Wilhelm Portland OR.jpg|[[Carl LeRoy Wilhelm|Roy Wilhelm]]
Image:PC603 crew.jpg|Crew of the '''USS PC-603''', year unknown 
</gallery>

<gallery caption="USS PC-603 in action">
Image:PC-603_Baja.jpg|The bow of PC-603 under way off the coast of Baja California
Image:PC-603_Neah_1.png|PC-603 with iced rigging at Neah Bay, Washington
Image:PC-603_Neah_2.png|PC-603 with iced rigging at Neah Bay, Washington
</gallery>

==External links==

*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/010603.htm Technical and historical information about USS ''PC-603''] from www.navsource.org
*[http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8580.html Listing for ''PC-603''] at uboat.net

{{CLW Navy Career}}
[[Category:Ships|PC-603]]