The USS Bisbee (PF-46) was a Tacoma class patrol frigate manned by
the United States Coast Guard, launched in 1943, that received two battle stars
for World War II service and three for Korean War service.
Bisbee (PF-46) was launched on 7 September 1943 at the Consolidated Steel Company
shipyard in Los Angeles, California, sponsored by Mrs. Richard Murphy; and commissioned
on 15 February 1944, with Commander J. P. German, USCG, in command.
Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, the Coast Guard manned Bisbee joined the 7th Fleet
at Noumea, New Caledonia, on 27 June 1944. She took part in the landings on Biak
Island (12-31 August), and then patrolled off the New Guinea coast until October
1944. During the invasion of Leyte she served as a patrol and harbor control vessel
until detached for escort duty on 22 November. Bisbee returned to Pearl Harbor on
15 December.
After undergoing repairs, Bisbee departed Pearl Harbor on 6 January 1945 for Dutch
Harbor, Alaska, arriving there on the 13th. From January to July, she escorted merchant
vessels and Army transports between Dutch Harbor, Adak, Amchitka, and Attu, and
acted as guardship for Fleet Air Wing 4 in the North Pacific Ocean.
On 6 July 1945, Bisbee, with Escort Division 43, departed Adak for Seattle, Washington,
arriving there on 12 July. After undergoing repairs and conversion, the ship returned
to Alaskan waters, arriving at Cold Bay, Alaska, on 13 August. On 26 August 1945,
Bisbee was placed out of commission at Cold Bay and loaned to the USSR the next
day, where she served under the designation EK-17.
Returned by the Russians on 1 November 1949, she lay at Yokosuka Navy Yard, Japan,
until being recommissioned on 18 October 1950. Bisbee got underway for Korea on
23 November 1950, and served on patrol, escort, and bombardment duty until 20 October
1951, with occasional voyages to the Philippines, Hong Kong, and the Pescadores.
After repairs at Yokosuka, she was transferred to Colombia on 13 February 1952 under
the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, serving as the Capitan Tono until being scrapped
in 1963.
Bisbee received two battle stars for her World War II service and three for Korean
War service.