USS Reading (PF-66)

USS Reading (PF-66)

USS Reading (PF-66), a Tacoma-class frigate, originally classified as PG-174, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Reading, Pennsylvania.

Reading (PF-66) was laid down by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on 23 May 1943; launched on 28 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. John C. Butterweck; towed down the Mississippi and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 19 August 1944, with Lieutenant Commander Nelson C. McCormick, USCG, in command. The broken christening bottle and other artifacts from and relating to the ship are in the collection of the Historical Society of Berks County, located in Reading, PA.