USS Moberly ( PF - 63 ) USS " Moberly " ( PF - 63 ) , a , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Moberly , Missouri . " Moberly " ( PF - 63 ) , originally designated as PG - 171 , was reclassified PF - 63 on 15 April 1943 ; laid down as " Scranton " under Maritime Commission contract by Globe Shipbuilding Company in Superior , Wisconsin , on 3 November 1943 ; launched on 26 January 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Howard J . Snowden ; renamed " Moberly " on 28 June 1944 ; placed " in service " from 1 to 7 September during transfer to Houston , Texas , for completion of construction by Brown Shipbuilding ; and commissioned at Houston on 11 December 1944 , with Lieutenant Commander Leslie B . Tollaksen , USCG , in command . Service history . After shakedown off Bermuda , " Moberly " reported to the Atlantic Fleet on 8 February 1945 for escort duty . Assigned to TG 60 . 1 , she departed Norfolk , Virginia , 22 February in the screen of North Africa n bound convoy UGS - 76 . She reached Oran , Algeria , 10 March , thence sailed on the 18th with westbound convoy GUS - 76 . Transferred to TG - 60 . 7 on 29 March , she joined the eastbound convoy UGS - 82 in the mid - Atlantic and returned to Oran on 8 April . Once again , the frigate sailed for the United States on 17 April . The escorts left the convoy off New York about noon on 5 May and headed for Boston , Massachusetts . In company with and , " Moberly " approached Buzzards Bay late that afternoon , only two days before Germany surrendered . At 18 : 54 , on orders from CTG 60 . 7 in , then at the southern entrance to the Cape Cod Canal , the ships turned about to search for a German submarine off Block Island . At 1740 , had torpedo ed and sunk " Black Point " within sight of Point Judith , Rhode Island , as the American collier headed for Boston . With Lieutenant Commander Tollaksen in tactical command , the ships reached the area at 19 : 20 ; and after forming a scout line off Block Island , they began a sweep to seaward at 20 : 10 . Within 15 minutes , " Atherton " detected the snorkel submarine , bottomed in a depth of 18 fathoms . The destroyer escort dropped magnetic depth charge s at 20 : 28 , and during the next 30 minutes fired two full spreads of hedgehog s . Working as an effective hunter - killer group , " Atherton " and " Moberly " continued the search and destroy operations . At 23 : 41 the escort launched hedgehogs which brought large amounts of oil , air bubbles , and debris to the surface . The two ships delivered four more attacks in the early hours of 6 May , and by dawn oil and flotsam littered the ocean . The ships recovered such conclusive evidence as plank ing , life rafts , a chart tabletop , clothing , and an officer ' s cap , which indicated the accuracy and severity of the earlier attacks . To be certain however , they pounded the lifeless U - boat throughout the morning ; then at 1240 , TG 60 . 7 headed for Boston with " brooms at mastheads . " " Moberly " operated between Boston and New York until 31 July when she sailed with three other frigates for the Pacific . She transited the Panama Canal on 8 August and reached Pearl Harbor on the 23rd . Six days later " Moberly " and sailed for the Marshall Islands to begin weather station and plane guard patrols . The frigates reached Majuro on 5 September , and during the next six months they alternated on patrolling their assigned area out of Majuro and later out of Kwajalein . " Moberly " returned to the west coast early in April 1946 and subsequently served in the 13th Naval District . She decommissioned on 12 August 1946 . Authorized by the Secretary of the Navy for disposal on 29 August , " Moberly " was struck from the Navy list on 23 April 1947 . She was sold for scrapping to Franklin Shipwrecking Company of Hillside , New Jersey , on 27 October 1947 . " Moberly " received one battle star for World War II service .