USS Belfast
1943 Tacoma-class frigate
USS Belfast (PF-35), the only ship of the name, was a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1943 to 1945. She then served in the Soviet Navy as EK-3.
Construction and commissioning
Belfast (PF-35) was laid down on 26 March 1943, at Wilmington, California, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1446). She was launched on 20 May 1943, sponsored by Miss Elizabeth C. Wilson, and commissioned at Terminal Island, California, on 24 November 1943.
Service history
US Navy, World War II, 1943–1945
Following outfitting, shakedown, and post-shakedown repairs, Belfast stood out of San Pedro, California, on 30 April 1944 and headed for Australia. After stopping at Nouméa, New Caledonia, Belfast reached Cairns, Australia, at the end of May 1944. From there, she moved into the Southwest Pacific theater of operations to serve as a patrol vessel and convoy escort. During the summer and early autumn of 1944, she supported the latter stages of the leapfrog assaults along the northern coast of New Guinea. She took part in the Noemfoor landing on 2 July 1944 and in the assault on Cape Opmarai on 30 July 1944.
Belfast continued to operate in the waters around western New Guinea until sent to escort a reinforcement convoy to Leyte in the Philippine Islands during October 1944.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “USS Belfast” is 1943 Tacoma-class frigate. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Belfast, Tacoma-class and frigate, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1943 Tacoma-class frigate” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 12, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7867654. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1943, 1945, 1446 and 1944.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “USS Belfast”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow USS Belfast primary sources, USS Belfast archive and Belfast research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “USS Belfast”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “USS Belfast” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.