San Bernardino

San Bernardino

(PG-59: dp. 1,768 (f.); 1. 240'2"; b. 36'4"; dr. 15'11";
s. 17 k.; cpl. 107; a. 2 3", 2 40mm.)

Vanda, a diesel-powered yacht, was built in 1928 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, accepted for Navy use after the United States entered World War II, assigned the name San Bernardino by the Navy on 13 January 1942; officially acquired by the Navy from Mr. Ernest E. Dane on 20 January 1942, converted to a gunboat by the Thames Shipyard, Inc. New London Conn.; and commissioned on 2 June 1942, Lt. Comdr. George L. Burns in command.

Sailing from New York on 4 July 1942, San Bernardino (PG-59) transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 August. During the remainder of World War II, she worked as a weather station ship at Oahu, Midway, Johnston, Canton, and Palmyra Islands. Departing Pearl Harbor on 4 November 1945, she arrived at San Francisco on the 12th and was decommissioned on 4 January 1946. Struck from the Navy list on 8 May, she was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 15 October for disposal.