The ''Edsall''-class destroyer escorts were

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 built primarily for ocean antisubmarine escort service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The lead ship, , was commissioned on 10 April 1943 at

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The class was also known as the FMR type from their

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scale, weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinder ...

reduction-geared diesel drive, with a type of engine used in the

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s of the time. The FMR's substitution for a diesel-electric power plant was the essential difference from the predecessor ("DET") class. This was the only World War II destroyer escort class in which all the ships originally ordered were completed as

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

destroyer escorts.U.S. Destroyers, an illustrated design history by Norman Friedman, Chapter 7 Destroyer escorts were regular companions escorting the vulnerable cargo ships. Late in the war, plans were made to replace the guns with guns, but only was refitted (after a collision). In total, all 85 were completed by two shipbuilding companies:

Consolidated Steel Corporation The Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Formed on 18 December 1928, the company built ships during World War II in two main locations: Wilmington, California, and Orange, Texas. It was created by the mer ...

, Orange, Texas (47), and

Brown Shipbuilding The Brown Shipbuilding Company was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1942 as a subsidiary of Brown and Root (now KBR (company), KBR) by brothers Herman and George R. Brown to build ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Brown Shipbuilding Company ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas (38). Most were en route to the Pacific Theater when Japan surrendered. One of the ships participated in

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

and two were attacked by German guided missiles.

Hull numbers

A total of 85 ''Edsall''-class destroyer escorts were built. * DE-129 through DE-152

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

* DE-238 through DE-255

, Texas * DE-316 through DE-338 Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas * DE-382 through DE-401 Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas

Fate

Destroyed or damaged in combat

* – sunk 24 April 1945 by in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

* – sunk 2 August 1944 by north of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

* – torpedoed 9 March 1944 by south of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

* – torpedoed 20 April 1944 by '' U-371'' off

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, damaged * – damaged 11 April 1944 off

by German aircraft

Transferred to US Coast Guard from 1951 to 1954

* – redesignated WDE-422 * – redesignated WDE-424 * – redesignated WDE-425 * – redesignated WDE-428 * – redesignated WDE-431 * – redesignated WDE-434 * – redesignated WDE-482 * – redesignated WDE-485 * – redesignated WDE-487 * – redesignated WDE-488 * – redesignated WDE-489 * – redesignated WDE-491

Transferred to other countries

* – transferred to the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...

as ''Comodoro Manuel Azueta'' (A06), last of class in active service (decommissioned 2015) * – transferred to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

as ''Tran Hung Dao''. Later, to

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

as * – transferred to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

* – transferred to

as ''Tran Khanh Du''. Later, captured by

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

and used as training vessel

Notable ships of class

* sister ship of USS ''Pope''. Was in TG 22.3 with ''Pope'' and participated in the capture of U-boat . * Participated in the sinking of U-boat . * Also participated in the sinking of U-boat . * was in Task Force 22.3 that was centered on escort carrier , which captured German U-boat U-505. * was in TG 22.3 with ''Pope'', ''Pillsbury'' and ''Chatelain'' and participated in the capture of U-505. * and each received a Navy Unit Commendation for action during the

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

campaign. * sank 5 German U-boats and awarded Presidential Unit Citation, 7

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

. * was in TG 22.3 with ''Pope'' and ''Pillsbury'' and participated in the capture of U-505. * – the sole surviving example of the ''Edsall''-class; a museum ship in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. * received a

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

for action three days after the war ended. * won two battle stars in a single engagement sinking two U-boats with the USS Frost (DE-144).

Ships in Class

References

External links

List of Edsall Class Destroyer Escorts

Edsall class
a
Destroyer History Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edsall Class Destroyer Escort Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard