Destroyer Escorts
The Buckley class destroyer escort USS Buckley (DE 51) of the US Navy.
503 destroyer escorts (DE's) (The Royal Navy had similar ships called frigates) were commissioned by the allies between Jan 1943 and May 1945. The first 3 came in Jan 1943 and they peaked at 48 being commissioned in October that year. 4 more were completed postwar, two of them in 1955.
The destroyer escort was not nearly as expensive as the fleet destroyer (DD) and much better suited for convoy escort duties. They were slower than the DD's (21 knots against 35 knots), well armed and most important of all, they could be built much faster. These vessels became the most common U-boat hunters from middle of 1943 on wards.
All Destroyer Escort classes
The list is divided by navy, then ordered by commissioned date of each class (oldest first).
| Commissioned | ||
|---|---|---|
US Navy | ||
| Buckley (102) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| Edsall (85) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| John C. Butler (83) | 1943 - 1955 | |
| Evarts (65) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| Cannon (64) | 1943 - 1944 | |
| Rudderow (22) | 1943 - 1944 | |
6 ship classes.
Please note that we list the classes by navies that initiated/owned the class.
Often vessels of certain classes were then built for other nations (or lent), those ships are not visible here but only through the navies pages or by looking into each class.
War losses: Destroyer Escorts
| Date | Vessel | Class | ||
1944 | ||||
 | 9 Mar 1944 | USS Leopold (DE 319) | Edsall | |
| 11 Apr 1944 | USS Holder (DE 401) | Edsall | |
| 5 May 1944 | USS Fechteler (i) (DE 157) | Buckley | |
| 8 Jun 1944 | USS Rich (i) (DE 695) | Buckley | |
| 2 Aug 1944 | USS Fiske (i) (DE 143) | Edsall | |
| 3 Oct 1944 | USS Shelton (i) (DE 407) | John C. Butler | |
| 25 Oct 1944 | USS Samuel B. Roberts (i) (DE 413) | John C. Butler | |
| 28 Oct 1944 | USS Eversole (i) (DE 404) | John C. Butler | |
1945 | ||||
| 24 Apr 1945 | USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136) | Edsall | |
| 25 May 1945 | USS Bates (DE 68) | Buckley | |
| 24 Jul 1945 | USS Underhill (DE 682) | Buckley | |
11 Destroyer Escorts lost. See all Allied Warship losses.
 Where Divers Dare Randall Peffer |
Books dealing with this subject include:
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