USS Howard D. Crow (DE-252) - Reclassified As Training Ship

Reclassified As Training Ship

With the Korean War came greater demands on the far-flung Navy, and Howard D. Crow recommissioned 6 July 1951 with a Navy crew. After shakedown training she reported to Key West, Florida, as Sonar School training ship, helping develop new equipment and tactics in antisubmarine warfare.

Moving north to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1952, the ship took part in fleet antisubmarine exercises off the coast. For the next 6 years Howard D. Crow followed this pattern of operations--antisubmarine training, exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean, and periodic overhauls. In 1957, she took part in important NATO exercises with almost 50 ships from a dozen countries and in 1958 the versatile ship acted as communications ship during a successful Jupiter nose-cone recovery off Puerto Rico.

Howard D. Crow was assigned to Galveston, Texas, as reserve training ship in September 1958. In this capacity she conducted 2-week training cruises for reservists, and at the same time maintained the ship in a high state of readiness for any emergency. Her periodic training cruises took the escort vessel to Key West and the Caribbean. In August 1961, however, the Berlin situation worsened, and Howard D. Crow was one of several reserve training ships returned to active service to increase the nation's readiness. She conducted refresher training at Guantanamo Bay and operated with the fleet in the Atlantic and Caribbean until August 1962.

The ship returned to reserve training duty 1 August 1962, again based at Galveston. She continued through 1963 into 1967 to provide at-sea training for naval reservists so vital in keeping America's defenses at the highest possible level of training and skill.