USSBurlington(PF-51)

	USSBurlington(PF-51)
History
United States
Name	Burlington
Namesake	City ofBurlington,Iowa
Reclassified	PF-51, 15 April 1943
Builder	Consolidated Steel Corporation,Wilmington, Los Angeles
Yard number	536
Laid down	19 October 1943
Launched	7 December 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Florence E. Conrad
Acquired	31 March 1944
Commissioned	3 April 1944
Decommissioned	26 August 1945
Honors and; awards	2battle stars,World War II
Fate	Transferred toSoviet Navy,26 August 1945
Acquired	Returned by Soviet Navy, 14 November 1949
Recommissioned	5 January 1951
Decommissioned	15 September 1952
Honors and; awards	5 battle stars,Korean War
Stricken	28 May 1953
Fate	Sold toColombian National Armada,26 June 1953
Soviet Union
Name	EK-21
Acquired	26 August 1945
Commissioned	26 August 1945
Fate	Returned toUnited States,14 November 1949
Colombia
Name	Almirante Brión
Acquired	26 June 1953
Fate	Scrapped 1968
General characteristics
Class and type	Tacoma-class frigate
Displacement	1,264 long tons (1,284 t)
Length	303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam	37 ft 11 in (11.56 m)
Draft	13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion	2 × 5,500 shp (4,101 kW) turbines; 3 boilers; 2 shafts;
Speed	20knots(37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	190
Armament	3 ×3 "/50 dual purposeguns (3x1); 4 x40 mm guns(2×2); 9 ×20 mm guns(9×1); 1 ×Hedgehoganti-submarine mortar; 8 × Y-gundepth chargeprojectors; 2 × Depth charge tracks;

USSBurlington(PF-51)was aTacoma-class frigatein commission from 1944 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1952, the onlyUnited States Navyship thus far to have been named forBurlington, Iowa.She also served in theSoviet NavyasEK-21and in theColombian National ArmadaasARCAlmirante Brión(F 14).

Construction and commissioning

Burlingtonoriginally was authorized as a patrolgunboatwith thehull numberPG-159, but she was redesignated as apatrol frigatewith the hull number PF-51 on 15 April 1943. She was laid down under aMaritime Commission contractas Maritime Commission Type T. S2-S2-AQ1Hull1462 on 19 October 1943 at theConsolidated Steel Corporation shipyardinWilmington, Los Angeles.She waslaunchedon 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Florence E. Conrad (wife of Max Conrad, the mayor of Burlington), acquired from the Maritime Commission by the U.S. Navy on 31 March 1944, andcommissionedon 3 April 1944, with aUnited States Coast Guardcrew.

Service history

U.S. Navy, World War II, 1944–1945

Followingshakedownand post-shakedown shipyard availability,Burlingtongot underway fromSan Pedro,California, on 1 August 1944. Her first assignment took her toEspiritu Santo,where she performed patrol and escort duties in support of operations in westernNew Guinea.Then, from 16 October 1944 to 18 November 1944, she escortedconvoysbetween New Guinea and thePhilippine Islandsin support of theinvasionofLeyte.She departed the war zone on 3 December 1944 to return to California and arrived atSan Francisco,California, on 25 December 1944 for repairs.

After repairs and preparations for cold-weather operations,Burlingtondeparted San Francisco on 18 February 1945 for five months of patrol and escort duty in theAleutian Islands.Selected for transfer to theSoviet NavyinProject Hula– a secret program for the transfer of U.S. Navy ships to the Soviet Navy atCold Bay,Alaska, in anticipation of theSoviet Unionjoining thewar against Japan–Burlingtonreceived orders early in the summer of 1945 to proceed toTacoma,Washington,for repairs and alterations in preparation for her transfer. After undergoing repairs between 18 July 1945 and 2 August 1945, she headed north on 8 August 1945 for Cold Bay, where she soon began training her new Soviet crew.^[2]

Soviet Navy, 1945–1949

Following the completion of training for her Soviet crew,Burlingtonwasdecommissionedon 26 August 1945 at Cold Bay and transferred to the Soviet Union underLend-Leaseimmediately^[1]along with hersister ships USSBisbee(PF-46),USSGallup(PF-47),USSRockford(PF-48),USSMuskogee(PF-49),andUSSCarson City(PF-50).Commissioned into the Soviet Navy immediately,^[1]Burlingtonwas designated as astorozhevoi korabl( "escort ship" ) and renamedEK-21in Soviet service. She soon departed Cold Bay bound forPetropavlovsk-Kamchatskyin the Soviet Union, where she served as a patrol vessel in theSoviet Far East.^[2]

In February 1946, the United States began negotiations for the return of ships loaned to the Soviet Union for use during World War II. On 8 May 1947,United States Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestalinformed theUnited States Department of Statethat theUnited States Department of the Navywanted 480 of the 585 combatant ships it had transferred to the Soviet Union for World War II use returned,EK-21among them. Negotiations for the return of the ships were protracted, but on 14 November 1949 the Soviet Union finally returnedEK-21to the U.S. Navy atYokosuka,Japan.^[3]

U.S. Navy, Korean War, 1951–1952

Reverting to her original name,Burlingtonremained inactive in thePacific Reserve Fleetat Yokosuka until after theKorean Warbroke out on 25 June 1950. She was thenoverhauledand recommissioned on 5 January 1951 at Yokosuka. After shakedown and training exercises in the Yokosuka area,Burlingtondeployed to the waters offKorea.From 14 March 1951 to 24 April 1951, she operated inWonsanHarbor and offSongjin,bombarding shore targets, serving as harbor entrance control vessel, and performing patrol and escort duties.

After a brief repair period inSasebo Navy Yard,Sasebo,Japan,Burlingtonreturned to the combat zone and from 11 May 1951 to 8 June 1951 carried out shore bombardment and patrol duties from Wonsan toChongjin.During the summer of 1951, she served withTask Force92 andTask Force 77,performing escort duty in theunderway replenishmentarea off the east coast of Korea.

Burlingtonentered Yokosuka Navy Yard for overhaul late in September 1951 and returned to escort duty in Korean waters on 5 December 1951. Until early July 1952, she continued combat operations, periodically returning to Sasebo for repairs and training.

Burlingtondeparted Sasebo on 3 July 1952 bound for the Philippine Islands, where she participated in exercises off the west coast ofLuzonand cruised as far south asDavaoonMindanao.She departedManila Bayon 3 September 1952 to return to Yokosuka, where she was decommissioned on 15 September 1952. Her name was stricken from theNavy Liston 28 May 1953.

Colombian Navy, 1953–1968

The United States soldBurlingtonto the government ofColombiaon 26 June 1953. She operated with theColombian Navyunder the nameARCAlmirante Brión(F 14).

Almirante Briónwas scrapped in 1968.

Honors and awards

The U.S. Navy awardedBurlingtontwobattle starsfor her World War II service and five battle stars for her Korean War service.

References

This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.
NavSource Online Frigate Photo Archive USS Burlington (PF-51) ex-PG-159

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eTheDictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsBurlingtonarticle states thatBurlingtonwas transferred on 26 August 1945, andNavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive Burlington (PF 51) ex-PG-159andhazegray.orgBurlingtonrepeats this. However, more recent research in Russell, Richard A.,Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,Washington, D.C.:Naval Historical Center,1997,ISBN 0-945274-35-1,p. 39, which includes access to Soviet-era records unavailable during theCold War,reports that the transfer date was 26 August 1945. As sources, Russell cites Department of the Navy,Ships Data: U.S. Naval VesselsVolume II, 1 January 1949, (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Washington, DC: Bureau of Ships, 1949; and Berezhnoi, S. S.,Flot SSSR: Korabli i suda lendliza: Spravochnik( "The Soviet Navy: Lend-Lease Ships and Vessels: A Reference" ), St. Petersburg, Russia: Belen, 1994. According to Russell, Project Hula ships were decommissioned by the U.S. Navy simultaneously with their transfer to the Soviet Navy – see photo captions on p. 24 regarding the transfers of variouslarge infantry landing craft(LCI(L)s) and information on p. 27 about the transfer ofUSSCoronado(PF-38),which Russell says typified the transfer process – indicating thatBurlington's U.S. Navy decommissioning, transfer, and Soviet Navy commissioning all occurred simultaneously on 26 August 1945.
^^a ^bRussell, Richard A.,Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,Washington, D.C.:Naval Historical Center,1997,ISBN 0-945274-35-1,p. 39.
^Russell, Richard A.,Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,Washington, D.C.:Naval Historical Center,1997,ISBN 0-945274-35-1,pp. 37-38, 39.

[transfer_date-1] TheDictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsBurlingtonarticle states thatBurlingtonwas transferred on 26 August 1945, andNavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive Burlington (PF 51) ex-PG-159andhazegray.orgBurlingtonrepeats this. However, more recent research in Russell, Richard A.,Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,Washington, D.C.:Naval Historical Center,1997,ISBN 0-945274-35-1,p. 39, which includes access to Soviet-era records unavailable during theCold War,reports that the transfer date was 26 August 1945. As sources, Russell cites Department of the Navy,Ships Data: U.S. Naval VesselsVolume II, 1 January 1949, (NAVSHIPS 250-012), Washington, DC: Bureau of Ships, 1949; and Berezhnoi, S. S.,Flot SSSR: Korabli i suda lendliza: Spravochnik( "The Soviet Navy: Lend-Lease Ships and Vessels: A Reference" ), St. Petersburg, Russia: Belen, 1994. According to Russell, Project Hula ships were decommissioned by the U.S. Navy simultaneously with their transfer to the Soviet Navy – see photo captions on p. 24 regarding the transfers of variouslarge infantry landing craft(LCI(L)s) and information on p. 27 about the transfer ofUSSCoronado(PF-38),which Russell says typified the transfer process – indicating thatBurlington's U.S. Navy decommissioning, transfer, and Soviet Navy commissioning all occurred simultaneously on 26 August 1945.

[Russell_p._39-2] Russell, Richard A.,Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,Washington, D.C.:Naval Historical Center,1997,ISBN 0-945274-35-1,p. 39.

[3] Russell, Richard A.,Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,Washington, D.C.:Naval Historical Center,1997,ISBN 0-945274-35-1,pp. 37-38, 39.

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