Edsall Class Destroyer Escort
The Edsall class destroyer escorts were built primarily for ocean anti-submarine escort service during World War II. The lead ship, USS Edsall (DE-129) was commissioned on 10 April 1943 at Orange, Texas. The class was also known as the FMR type from their Fairbanks-Morse Reduction-geared diesel drive used in the submarines of the time. The FMR's substitution for a diesel-electric power plant was the essential difference from the predecessor Cannon ("DET") class. This was the only World War II DE class in which all the ships originally ordered were completed as United States Navy Destroyer Escorts. Destroyer escorts were regular companions escorting the vulnerable cargo ships. Late in WWII, plans were made to replace the 3" guns with 5" guns but only USS Camp (DE-251) was refitted (after a collision). In total all 85 were completed by three shipbuilding companies: Beth Staten Island (47), Consolidated Orange (18), and Houston (20). Most were en route to the Pacific Theater when Japan surrendered. One of the ships participated in Operation Dragoon and two were attacked by guided missiles used by the Germans.
Read more about Edsall Class Destroyer Escort: Hull Numbers
Famous quotes containing the words class, destroyer and/or escort:
“He could jazz up the map-reading class by having a full-size color photograph of Betty Grable in a bathing suit, with a co- ordinate grid system laid over it. The instructor could point to different parts of her and say, “Give me the co-ordinates.”... The Major could see every unit in the Army using his idea.... Hot dog!”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“There is a concept that is the corrupter and destroyer of all others. I speak not of Evil, whose limited empire is that of ethics; I speak of the infinite.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“When you escort someone, escort him all the way to his destination; if you help someone, help him thoroughly.”
—Chinese proverb.