Subchaser in the South Pacific
A Saga of the USS SC-761 during World War II
By J. Henry Doscher, Jr., Captain, USNR, (Ret.)

The Saga of the USS SC-761, involving the smallest warship in the United States Navy, is the story of the Splinter Fleet during World War II.

The SC-761 accomplished the mundane convoy of merchant ships, survived South Pacific hurricanes, fought Japanese dive bombers with its 40mm and 20mm guns, fired depth charges at suspected enemy submarines, and claimed credit for a "kill" of one Japanese submarine.

The story of the SC-761 begins with its construction at Ipswich in early 1942 and ends with its decommissioning at Mare Island, California in late November 1945.

SC-761 took part in the rescue of a large number of Australian and New Zealand Coast Watchers in July 1943.