Gunboats
(PG) Built Before WWII
Most recent update: May 2, 2015.
When the numbering system started, in 1920, the Navy had 40 patrol gunboats, (PG), but they were a bit of a hodge-podge collection of different sizes and specs, including 7 that had previously been designated light cruisers and 9 that were acquired in the Spanish-American war: these were numbered PG-1 through PG-42, with the numbers PG-25 and 26 not used. In the following 20 years, leading up to WWII, the Navy dumped all but 6 of these 40 boats and added only 21. The 6 pre-1920 boats that were still in service when the war began were PGs 8, 17, 18, 19, 21 and 22. Of the 21 that were added, only PG-50 and PG-51 were actual purpose-built gunboats: PG-43 through 48 were shallow-draft boats built in Shanghai for riverine warfare, PG-49 was a converted tender and the remaining 12 were all converted megayachts.
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| Name | Customer | Builder | Location | LDT | LOA | Built | Notes | ||
| PG-1 | Yorktown | US Navy | Cramp Shipbuilding | Philadelphia PA | 255 | 1,700 | 245 | 23 Apr 1889 | scrapped 1921 |
| PG-2 | Petrel | US Navy | Columbia Iron Works | Baltimore MD | 890 | 188 | 10 Dec 1889 | sold 1920 | |
| PG-3 | Concord | US Navy | Delaware River Sbldg. | Chester PA | 249 | 1,700 | 245 | 14 Feb 1891 | PHS quarantine ship 1914, sold 1929 |
| PG-4 | Bancroft | US Navy | Moore & Co., Samuel L. | Elizabethport NJ | 5 | 839 | 187 | 3 Mar 1893 | to USCG 1906 as Itasca, scrapped 1922 |
| PG-5 | Machias | US Navy | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 2 | 1,177 | 204 | 20 Jul 1893 | to Mexico 1920 as Agua Prieta (R-35), scrapped 1935 |
| PG-6 | Castine | US Navy | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 3 | 1,177 | 204 | 22 Oct 1894 | sold 1921 as banana boat, in collision and sank 1924 |
| PG-7 | Nashville | US Navy | Newport News Sbldg. | Newport News VA | 7 | 1,371 | 234 | 19 Aug 1897 | sold 1921 as Richmond Cedar Works No. 4, scrapped 1957 |
| PG-8 | Wilmington | US Navy | Newport News Sbldg. | Newport News VA | 8 | 1,392 | 234 | 13 May 1897 | Dover (IX-30) 1941, scuttled 1947 |
| PG-9 | Helena | US Navy | Newport News Sbldg. | Newport News VA | 9 | 1,392 | 234 | 8 Jul 1897 | scrapped 1934 |
| PG-10 | Annapolis | US Navy | Nixon, Lewis | Elizabethport NJ | 18 | 1,010 | 204 | 20 Jul 1897 | Keystone State (IX-1) 1921, to USCG 1941, scrapped 1950 |
| PG-11 | Vicksburg | US Navy | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 15 | 1,010 | 204 | 23 Oct 1897 | to USCG 1921 as Alexander Hamilton (WIX-272), scrapped 1946 |
| PG-12 | Newport | US Navy | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 16 | 1,010 | 204 | 5 Oct 1897 | to NYSMA 1907, to City of Aberdeen WA 1934 |
| PG-13 | Princeton | US Navy | Dialogue & Son | Camden NJ | 340 | 1,010 | 204 | 27 May 1898 | sold 1919 |
| PG-14 | Wheeling | US Navy | Union Iron Works | San Francisco CA | 45 | 990 | 190 | 10 Aug 1897 | scrapped 1946 |
| PG-15 | Marietta | US Navy | Union Iron Works | San Francisco CA | 46 | 990 | 190 | 1 Sep 1897 | to NJ Militia 1912, scrapped 1920 |
| PG-16 | Palos | US Navy | Mare Island NSY, Shanghai D&E | Vallejo CA, Shanghai, China | 190 | 165 | 24 Jun 1914 | PR-1 1928, scrapped 1937 | |
| PG-17 | Dubuque | US Navy | Consolidated Sbldg. | Morris Heights NY | 193 | 1,085 | 200 | 3 Jun 1895 | AG-6 1919, IX-9 1922, PG-17 1940, scrapped 1946 |
| PG-18 | Paducah | US Navy | Consolidated Sbldg. | Morris Heights NY | 194 | 1,085 | 200 | 2 Sep 1905 | AG-7 1919, IX-10 1922, PG-18 1940, sold 1946 as Geulah, scrapped 1951 |
| PG-19 | Sacramento | US Navy | Cramp Shipbuilding | Philadelphia PA | 403 | 1,425 | 226 | 26 Apr 1914 | sold 1947 as Fermina |
| PG-20 | Monocacy | US Navy | Mare Island NSY, Shanghai D&E | Vallejo CA, Shanghai, China | 190 | 165 | 20 May 1914 | scuttled 1939 | |
| PG-21 | Asheville | US Navy | Charleston NSY | Charleston SC | 1,575 | 241 | 6 Jul 1920 | sunk by Japanese gunfire south of Java 1942 | |
| PG-22 | Tulsa | US Navy | Charleston NSY | Charleston SC | 1,575 | 241 | 3 Dec 1923 | Tacloban 1944, scrapped 1948 | |
| PG-23 | Ranger | US Navy | Harlan & Hollingsworth | Wilmington DE | 146 | 1,020 | 177 | 1876 | to Mass. MA 1909, Rockport 1917, Nantucket (PG-23) 1918, IX-18 1921, to USMMA 1940, sold 1942 as Emery Rice, scrapped 1958 |
| PG-24 | Dolphin | US Navy | John Roach & Sons | Chester PA | 236 | 1,486 | 256 | 1885 | scrapped 1922 |
| PG-27 | Marblehead | US Navy | City Point Iron Works | South Boston MA | 2,089 | 269 | 2 Apr 1894 | built as C-11, PG-27 1920, scrapped 1921 | |
| PG-28 | Denver | US Navy | Neafie & Levy | Philadelphia PA | 934 | 3,200 | 309 | 17 May 1904 | built as C-14, PG-28 1920, CL-16 1921, scrapped 1933 |
| PG-29 | Des Moines | US Navy | Fore River Sbldg. | Quincy MA | 107 | 3,200 | 309 | 5 Mar 1904 | built as C-15, PG-29 1920, CL-17 1921, scrapped 1930 |
| PG-30 | Chattanooga | US Navy | Crescent SY | Elizabethport NJ | 80 | 3,200 | 309 | 11 Oct 1904 | built as C-16, PG-30 1920, CL-18 1921, scrapped 1930 |
| PG-31 | Galveston | US Navy | Norfolk NSY | Portsmouth VA | 3,200 | 309 | 15 Feb 1905 | built as C-17, PG-31 1920, CL-19 1921, scrapped 1933 | |
| PG-32 | Tacoma | US Navy | Union Iron Works | San Francisco CA | 71 | 3,200 | 309 | 30 Jan 1904 | built as C-18, PG-32 1920, CL-20 1921, wrecked off Vera Cruz 1924 |
| PG-33 | Cleveland | US Navy | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 35 | 3,200 | 309 | 2 Nov 1903 | built as C-19, PG-33 1920, CL-21 1921, scrapped 1930 |
| PG-34 | Amazonas | Brazilian Navy | Armstrong Whitworth | Newcastle, England | 3,769 | 354 | 1898 | acquired 1898 as New Orleans, CL-22 1921, scrapped 1930 | |
| PG-35 | Diogenes | Peruvian Navy | Howaldtswerke | Kiel, Germany | 2,255 | 259 | 1883 | acquired 1898 as Topeka, IX-35 1921, scrapped 1930 | |
| PG-36 | Alm. Abreu | Brazilian Navy | Armstrong Whitworth | Newcastle, England | 3,340 | 394 | 1898 | acquired 1898 as Albany, CL-23 1921, scrapped 1930 | |
| PG-37 | Callao | Spanish Navy | Manila Shipyard | Cavite, Philippines | 243 | 121 | 1888 | captured 1898, YFB-11 1921, sold 1923 | |
| PG-38 | Elcano | Spanish Navy | Carraca Arsenal | Cadiz, Spain | 620 | 165 | 1884 | captured 1898, sunk as target 1928 | |
| PG-39 | Pampanga | Spanish Navy | Manila Shipyard | Cavite, Philippines | 243 | 121 | 1888 | captured 1898, sunk as target 1928 | |
| PG-40 | Quiros | Spanish Navy | Whampoa Dock | Hong Kong, HK | 350 | 148 | 1896 | captured 1898, sunk as target 1923 | |
| PG-41 | Samar | Spanish Navy | Manila Shipyard | Cavite, Philippines | 243 | 121 | 1887 | captured 1898, sold 1921 | |
| PG-42 | Villalobos | Spanish Navy | Whampoa Dock | Hong Kong, HK | 250 | 145 | 1896 | acquired 1900, sunk as target 1928 | |
| PG-43 | Guam | US Navy | Kiangnan Dock | Shanghai, China | 350 | 159 | 28 Dec 1927 | PR-3 1928, captured by Japan 1941 as Tatara, to Taiwan 1946 as Tai Yuan, captured by PRC 1949 | |
| PG-44 | Tutuila | US Navy | Kiangnan Dock | Shanghai, China | 395 | 159 | 2 Mar 1928 | PR-4 1928, to Taiwan 1948, scuttled 1949 | |
| PG-45 | Panay | US Navy | Kiangnan Dock | Shanghai, China | 474 | 191 | 10 Sep 1928 | PR-5 1928, sunk by Japanese aircraft 1937 | |
| PG-46 | Oahu | US Navy | Kiangnan Dock | Shanghai, China | 450 | 191 | 20 Oct 1928 | PR-6 1928, sunk off Corregidor 1942 | |
| PG-47 | Luzon | US Navy | Kiangnan Dock | Shanghai, China | 500 | 211 | 1 Jun 1928 | PR-7 1928, to Japan 1942 as Karatsu, sunk 1944 | |
| PG-48 | Mindanao | US Navy | Kiangnan Dock | Shanghai, China | 560 | 211 | 10 Jul 1928 | PR-8 1928, scuttled in Manila Bay 1942 | |
| PG-49 | Niagara/Fulton | US Navy | Fore River SB | Quincy MA | 1,308 | 226 | 7 Dec 1914 | built as AS-1, PG-49 1930, scrapped 1935 | |
| PG-50 | Erie | US Navy | New York NSY | Brooklyn NY | 2,000 | 328 | 1 Jul 1936 | sunk by u-boat off Curacao 1942 | |
| PG-51 | Charleston | US Navy | Charleston NSY | Charleston SC | 2,000 | 328 | 8 Jul 1936 | to Mass. MA 1948, sold 1957 | |
| PG-52 | Hi-Esmaro | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 1,922 | 267 | 20 Aug 1929 | Niagara (PG-52) 1941, AGP-1 1943, torpedoed and lost 1943 | ||
| PG-53 | Orion | Krupp Germania Werft | Kiel, Germany | 3,774 | 333 | 1929 | Vixen (PG-53) 1941, sold 1947 as Regina Maris (Egypt) | ||
| PG-54 | Viking | George L. Baker | Newport News SB | Newport News VA | 1,720 | 272 | 1929 | St. Augustine (PG-54) 1941, in collision and sank 1944 | |
| PG-55 | Savarona/Alder | Pusey & Jones | Wilmington DE | 2,250 | 294 | 1928 | Jamestown (PG-55) 1941, AGP-3 1943, sold 1946 | ||
| PG-56 | Aras II | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 1,820 | 224 | 1930 | Williamsburg (PG-56) 1941, AGC-369 1945, to NSF 1962 as Anton Brunn, sold 1968 as Williamsburg, scrapped 1993 | ||
| PG-57 | Alva | William K. Vanderbilt II | Krupp Germania Werft | Kiel, Germany | 1,500 | 264 | 1931 | Plymouth (PG-57) 1942, torpedoed and lost off Cape Henry 1943 | |
| PG-58 | Caroline | Eldridge H. Johnson | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 2,350 | 279 | 1931 | Hilo (PG-58) 1941, AGP-2 1943, sold 1946, scrapped 1958 | |
| PG-59 | Vanda | Ernest B. Dane | Bath Iron Works | Bath ME | 1,768 | 240 | 1929 | San Bernardino (PG-59) 1942, sold 1947 | |
| PG-60 | Reveler/Chalena | Russell Alger | Krupp Germania Werft | Kiel, Germany | 1,434 | 226 | 1930 | Beaumont (PG-60) 1942, sold 1949 as Elpetel, Jezebel 1983, Talitha G 1993, Talitha | |
| PG-61 | Delphine | Great Lakes EW | Ecorse MI | 1,950 | 258 | 1921 | Dauntless (PG-61) 1942, returned to owner 1947, as Delphine | ||
| PG-72 | Nourmahal | Krupp Germania Werft | Kiel, Germany | 2,250 | 264 | 1928 | to USCG 1940 as WPG-72, PG-72 1943, scrapped 1964 | ||
| PG-85 | Corsair III | J. P. Morgan | Fletcher, W. & A. | Hoboken NJ | 1,136 | 304 | 1899 | SP-159 1917, returned 1919, to C&GS-1930 as Oceanographer (OSS-26), Natchez (PG-85) 1942, Oceanographer (AGS-3) 1942, scrapped 1944 |