List of destroyer escorts of the United States Navy

USS Evarts

This is a list of destroyer escorts of the United States Navy, listed in a table sortable by both name and hull-number. It includes the hull classification symbols DE (both Destroyer Escort and Ocean Escort), DEG, and DER.

Historical overview

The Lend-Lease Act was passed into law in the US in March 1941 enabling the United Kingdom to procure merchant ships, warships and munitions etc. from the US, in order to help with the war effort. This enabled the UK to commission the US to design, build and supply an escort vessel that was suitable for anti submarine warfare in deep open ocean situations, which they did in June 1941. Captain E.L. Cochrane of the American Bureau of Shipping came up with a design which was known as the British Destroyer Escort (BDE). The BDE designation was retained by the first six Destroyer Escorts transferred to the United Kingdom (BDE 1, 2, 3, 4, 12 and 46); of the initial order of 50 these were the only ones the Royal Navy received, the rest being reclassified as Destroyer Escort (DE) on 25 January 1943 and taken over by the United States Navy.^[1]

Ships that were classified DE or DEG were reclassified in 1975 as FF or FFG (frigates). This affected hull numbers DE-1037 and higher as well as all DEGs.

Classes

• 97 Evarts were completed
  • 32 converted to Royal Navy Captain-class frigates before commissioning as DEs
  • 34 converted to DERs
• 148 Buckleys were completed
  • 46 converted to Captains before commissioning as DEs
  • 37 reclassified and converted to APDs after having been commissioned as DEs
  • 6 in addition to the 148 completed as APDs
• 22 Rudderrow were completed
  • 1 converted to APD after commissioning as DE
  • 50 additional completed as APDs
• 83 John C. Butler were completed
  • 2 converted to DERs

Destroyer Escorts (DE)

Guided missile Destroyer Escorts (DEG)

• (DEG-1) Brooke
• (DEG-2) Ramsey
• (DEG-3) Schofield
• (DEG-4) Talbot
• (DEG-5) Richard L. Page
• (DEG-6) Julius A. Furer
• DEG-7 through 13 The ships were redesignated FFG, a patrol frigate design would be re-designated the FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate.

Radar picket Destroyer Escorts (DER)

During World War II seven DEs would be converted to this role, and during the Cold War another 36 would be converted. All would be replaced by more modern radar by 1965.^[5]

High Speed Transports (APD)

During World War II 94 DEs would be converted to High Speed Transports for amphibious assaults and raids; in 1969 all surviving ships would be reclassified as Fast Amphibious Transports (LPR).^[6]

See also

• Captain class frigate Captain class was the name the Royal Navy gave to Destroyer escorts.
• List of frigate classes
• List of frigates of the United States Navy subset of above with hull numbers DE/FF 1037 and higher plus all DEG/FFGs because of the United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification
• High-speed transport
• Crosley-class high speed transport - APDs converted from Rudderow-class DEs
• List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships § High-speed Transport (APD)
• List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships § Amphibious Transport, Small (LPR) - APDs reclassed as LPRs in 1969
• List of United States Navy ships
• List of United States Navy losses in World War II § Destroyer escorts (DE) - abbreviated list
• List of US Navy ships sunk or damaged in action during World War II § Destroyer, escort vessel (DE) - detailed list
• Modern naval tactics
• Ship Characteristics Board - aka SCB

References

1. The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts by Bruce Hampton Franklin, published by Chatham Publishing (1999), ISBN 1-86176-118-X page 7
2. U.S. Destroyers, an illustrated design history by Norman Friedman, ISBN 1-55750-442-3 Chapter 7
3. Allied Escort Ships of World War II by Peter Elliott, ISBN 0-356-08401-9 page 453
4. DE-1101
5. Friedman, Destroyers, pp 230-233
6. Friedman, Destroyers, pp 524, 532

External links

• http://www.desausa.org/ Destroyer Escort Sailors Association (DESA).
• http://www.ussslater.org/ USS Slater, the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum.
• Destroyer escort Slater photos on board the destroyer escort USS Slater DE-766
• WWII destroyer escort photos Photos of life on board the destroyer escort USS Bangust DE-739 in World War II
• https://web.archive.org/web/20070301070801/http://www.captainclassfrigates.co.uk/ the Captain Class Frigates Association.
• http://www.uboat.net/
• Canceled destroyer escorts hull numbers information
• Canceled destroyer escorts hull numbers information (DE-1098 to DE-1107)

Museum ships

• USS Ainsworth (DE-1090) - İnciraltı Sea Museum, İzmir, Turkey
• USS Slater (DE-766) - Destroyer Escort Historical Museum, Albany, NY
• USS Stewart (DE–238) - Galveston Naval Museum, Galveston, TX