An escort destroyer with

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

DDE was a destroyer (DD) modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers. Later, in March 1950, the post World War II ASW destroyer (DDK) classification was merged with the DDE classification, resulting in all DDK ships being reclassified as DDE, but again retaining their original

hull number Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the HIN is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type. United ...

s. On 30 June 1962, the DDE classification was retired, and all DDEs were reclassified as destroyers (DD). ''Escort destroyers'' should not be confused with the cheaper, slower, less capable, and more lightly armed World War II ''

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

s''.

USS Bache (DD-470) underway at sea, in the 1960s

Concept

Following the outbreak of World War II, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

had inadequate numbers of warships suitable for escort of trade

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s. While more modern destroyers were assigned to screen

capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...

s, destroyers built during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

were modified to serve as trade

escorts. Four

V and W-class destroyer The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar ship class, classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th of fourteen War Emergency Programme destroyers, War Emergency Programmes during the First World War an ...

s were re-armed with modern anti-aircraft and

anti-submarine weapon An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

s. Additional V & W destroyers received simpler modifications as shipyard resources became taxed by other wartime needs. The quarterdeck gun was removed to increase depth charge storage, and the after bank of

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

tubes was replaced by a anti-aircraft gun for escort of convoys in European coastal waters. Destroyers escorting trans-Atlantic convoys also replaced the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

gun with

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

, removed all torpedo tubes to improve seaworthiness, and replaced one boiler with additional fuel storage to increase range. Similar modifications were made to former United States destroyers obtained through the

Destroyers for Bases Agreement The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rights ...

. Anticipating a possible need to defend convoys supplying

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

allies, the United States Navy modified older destroyers during the Cold War. In the absence of hostilities requiring escort of merchant shipping, escort destroyers operated with

anti-submarine warfare carrier An anti-submarine warfare carrier (ASW carrier) (US hull classification symbol CVS) is a type of small aircraft carrier whose primary role is as the nucleus of an anti-submarine warfare hunter-killer group. This type of ship came into existenc ...

(CVS) hunter-killer groups. Operational doctrine anticipated each CVS would be accompanied by eight DDEs. Four DDEs would provide a close screen for the CVS while the other four attacked submarines detected by aircraft.

''Gearing'' class

conversions were modified by replacing the B position

5"/38 caliber gun The Mark 12 5"/38 caliber gun was a United States dual-purpose naval gun, but also installed in single-purpose mounts on a handful of ships. The 38 caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous United States standard 5"/51 low ...

s (mount 52) with either RUR-4 Weapon Alpha or hedgehog. A second Weapon Alpha was sometimes installed at the aft end of the 01 level above the aft 5"/38 gun mount.

''Fletcher'' class

conversions removed all torpedo tubes and three 5"/38 caliber gun mounts to retain only the main deck mounts fore and aft. A Weapon Alpha replaced the B position gun mount. Similar modifications were made by the

, usually to older,

era vessels, to fit them for specific tasks such as convoy work.

References

{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries Destroyers of the United States Navy

Concept

''Gearing'' class

''Fletcher'' class

See also

References