USS Luzon ( PG - 47 ) The first USS " Luzon " ( PG - 47 ) was laid down 20 November 1926 by the Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works , Shanghai , China ; launched 12 September 1927 ; sponsored by Miss Mary C . Carter , daughter of Commander Andrew F . Carter , USN ; and commissioned 1 June 1928 . Service history . One of eight gunboats built for service on the Yangtze River in China , " Luzon " was redesignated PR - 7 on 15 June . From commissioning until December 1938 , she served as the flagship of the Yangtze River Patrol , operating out of Hankow , between such ports as Nanking , Chunking , and Shanghai . In August 1937 , after the Japanese had attacked Shanghai , " Luzon " evacuated the American Embassy staff to Chunking . In December 1938 the river gunboat arrived at Shanghai to relieve as station ship . Except for infrequent calls at Nanking , Wuhu and other ports on the Yangtze , she remained off Shanghai until 29 November 1941 when she departed for the Philippines . " Luzon " arrived at Manila on 30 December , just 23 days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II . She then began patrol operations in the waters of the Philippines , assisting in the defense of both Bataan , from 1 February until the surrender of the peninsula to the Japanese 9 April , and Corregidor , from the beginning evacuations of that entrance island to Manila Bay until the enemy landings 5 May . The next day , with the surrender of the Corregidor and Manila Bay forts to the Japanese , " Luzon " , along with and , were scuttled in Manila Bay to prevent capture , and subsequently struck from the Navy List on 8 May 1942 . " Luzon " received one battle star for World War II service . Service in IJN . In late May , 1942 , " Luzon " was salvaged by the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) , and repair begun at the 103rd Repair Facility at Cavite . Her forward 3 - inch AA gun was replaced by a built - up superstructure and her bow is adorned with two imperial crests , one on each side , and on 1 August , " Luzon " was renamed " Karatsu " ( 唐津 ) by the Japanese , and assigned to the Sasebo Naval District and assigned to Vice Admiral Takahashi Ibo ' s ( 36 ) ( former CO of Kirishima ) Southwest Area Fleet ' s Third Southern Expeditionary Fleet . Although classified by the Japanese as a riverine gunboat , repair work continued to convert her into a submarine chaser , including the installation of a sonar system . When refit work completed on 14 October , she was reassigned to Cebu Guard Unit the next day . For the next two years she operated mostly in conjunction with Imperial Japanese Army to conduct counterguerrilla operations , with the secondary escort / patrol missions , and it was during one of these escort / patrol mission , she sunk with the help of two Nakajima B5N s from the IJN 954th Air Group ( 海軍第954航空隊九七艦攻 ) . The river gunboat was fatally torpedoed in the Philippines by on 3 March 1944 , and had to be towed back to Cebu when its bow was blown back to the bridge . However , the damage was too extensive to be repaired at Cebu , so she was towed to Manila to be repaired at No . 103 Repair Facility at Cavite . On 22 January 1945 , before the repairs could be completed , she was ordered to depart Manila as soon as possible , but due to the progress of the war , IJN had no options but to scuttle it as a blockship in Manila Bay on 5 February , and on 10 April , " Karatsu " was struck from IJN naval list .