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Patrol Yacht Photo Archive

Marcasite (PY 28)



Call sign:
Nan - Able - George - Yoke
Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1928 as the yacht Carmago by George Lawley & Son, Neponset, MA
  • Purchased by the Navy 2 February 1942 from Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic 2 February 1942 as the yacht Ramfis
  • Renamed Marcasite 10 February 1942
  • Commissioned USS Marcasite (PY 28), 2 May 1942 at Tampa, FL
  • Placed in reduced commission 28 June 1944 at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA
  • Decommissioned 5 October 1944 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal
  • Struck from the Navy list 14 October 1944
  • Sold 5 December 1944 and renamed Commando
  • Acquired in 1947 by the Minster SS Co. Ltd (Mitchell Cotts & Co. Malta) and renamed Westminster
  • Sold in 1952 to Paul M. Laferla of Malta who operated her thrice weekly as the passenger ferry Star of Malta between Malta and Syracuse, Sicily
  • Grounded 29 July 1955 on the Mercanti Reef off the North coast of Malta
  • Refloated in August 1955 and repaired
  • Sold in March 1966 to Cantieri Navali delle Grazie, La Spezia, Italy where she was broken up.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 1,130 t.
  • Length 225' 2"
  • Beam 32' 4"
  • Draft 17'
  • Speed 12 kts.
  • Complement 120
  • Armament: Two 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts, two depth charge tracks and one Y-gun depth charge projector
  • Propulsion: Two 800hp Bessemer diesel engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    MV Carmago
    Carmago/Marcasite 211k Marquesa Islands, French Polynesia
    MV Ramfis
    Ramfis/Marcasite 130k . .
    USS Marcasite (PY 28)
    Marcasite 95k
    Namesake:

    Marcasite - Any of several minerals possessing a metallic luster, especially that consisting of crystallized iron pyrites

    		 Tommy Trampp
    Photo added 20 November 2020
    Marcasite 122k c. 1942
    During conversion
    Marcasite 296k Taken during World War II
    Courtesy of D. M. McPherson, 1978
    U.S. Navy photo NH 86716    		 Naval History and Heritage Command
    MV Star of Malta
    Star of Malta/Marcasite 70k
    Star of Malta/Marcasite 598k
    Star of Malta/Marcasite 44k 29 July 1955
    Star of Malta/Marcasite 36k
    View the Marcasite (PY 28)
    DANFS History entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command Website
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