USS Asheville ( PF - 1 ) USS " Asheville " ( PF - 1 ) was an " Asheville " - class patrol frigate of the United States Navy that served during World War II . She was laid down on 10 March 1942 by Canadian Vickers Ltd . in Montreal , Canada as the River class frigate HMS " Adur " ( K296 ) to serve in the British Royal Navy . She was launched on 22 August 1942 but due to a lack of American vessels for convoy protection she was transferred to the United States Navy prior to completion . On 1 December 1942 , she was commissioned in Montreal as USS " Asheville " ( PG - 101 ) , a patrol gunboat . She was reclassified as USS " Asheville " ( PF - 1 ) on 15 April 1943 . Initially " Asheville " served on convoy escort but then transferred to anti - submarine patrols . She was decommissioned in January 1946 at the Norfolk Navy Yard and struck from the Navy Register in February . She was sold in June 1946 and later resold to Argentina where she was renamed " Hercules " and later " Juan B . Azopardo " ( GC 11 ) . She was stricken in 1973 , but her fate beyond that is not reported in secondary source s . Service . Convoys and patrols . After her launch and commissioning , USS " Asheville " ( PF - 1 ) sailed to Boston , Massachusetts via the Saint Lawrence River and Atlantic Ocean where she was completed . Lieutenant Commander Robert P . Walker was placed in command . On 23 February 1943 , " Asheville " reported to the Commander , Eastern Sea Frontier , for duty . She was assigned to escort convoys between New York City and Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . She continued this until 2 September when she was reassigned to antisubmarine patrols . On 17 September , she escorted a burned - out and ammunition ship out to sea and scuttled her in the deep waters . " Asheville " continued antisubmarine patrols until May 1944 . Experimental testing . In May 1944 , " Asheville " reported to the Boston Navy Yard where experimental antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) gear was installed . Once the equipment was installed she began testing it under guidance of the Commander , Antisubmarine Development Detachment , U . S . Atlantic Fleet ( COMASDEVLANT ) . In early September , her experimental testing was interrupted when she joined a hunter - killer group in a search for a suspected German U - boat . The search turned up nothing and she reported back to her experimental testing . On 15 September , she relocated to Port Everglades , Florida , COMASDEVLANT ' s new surface ship base . She operated out of that port until April 1945 , testing several ASW devices . On 13 April 1945 , " Asheville " reported to New York with a new assignment with the Commander , Eastern Sea Frontier , where she returned to antisubmarine patrols . Less than a month later , on 8 May , hostilities ended in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean . With the threat of U - boats gone , " Asheville " returned to Port Everglades where she underwent more experimental testing . On 19 July 1945 , she received orders to return to New York where an experimental radar system was installed . She spent the remainder of 1945 testing the RADAR system along the eastern coast . Post - service . On 14 January 1946 , Asheville was decommissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia . Her name was struck from the Navy Register on 25 February 1946 , and she was sold to the United Boat Service Corporation on 15 June 1946 . She was later sold to Argentina and was renamed ARA " Hercules " ( P - 31 ) and later ARA " Juan B . Azopardo " ( GC - 11 ) . Her exact fate is unknown .