USS ''Alger'' (DE-101) was a built for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

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 ...

. She served in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

and provided escort service against

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 ...

and air attack for Navy vessels and

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. ''Alger'' was named for Philip Rounsevile Alger. She was laid down on 2 January 1943 by the

Dravo Corp. Dravo Corporation was an American shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh in 1891. The corporation went public in 1936 and in 1998 it was bought out by Carm ...

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

; launched on 8 July 1943; sponsored by Miss Louisa Rodgers Alger; and commissioned at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

on 12 November 1943.

Service history

On 30 November, ''Alger'' sailed for

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and

shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

. She returned to Philadelphia for post-shakedown availability, then headed for the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

on 15 January 1944, and arrived at

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

on 21 January. There, she was assigned to Task Group (TG) 42.5 and departed on the 31st in the screen of a convoy bound for

Recife, Brazil Recife ( , ) is the state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North and the Northeast Region of Brazil. It is the largest city in Pernambuco state, and ...

. While ''en route'', ''Alger'' collided with a merchantman and sustained slight damage to her bow. However, she continued on to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and reached Recife on 14 February. Upon her arrival there, the ship was assigned to Task Group 41.5 for patrol duty along the Brazilian coast which she carried out until 1 June. On that day, ''Alger'' departed Recife to escort a convoy to Trinidad. She reached that island on 8 June and then sailed back to Recife with another convoy. On 17 July, ''Alger'' joined the screen of the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

and sailed for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

exercises off the coast of Brazil. She then resumed patrol duty and continued that work through most of November. ''Alger'' rendezvoused at sea on the last day of the month with Task Group 42.3 and escorted a convoy to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. On 28 December, the ship departed Recife to escort another convoy to Trinidad but returned to Recife on 30 January 1945. The next day, ''Alger'' was relieved of operational duties in preparation for her transfer to the government of Brazil on loan. After various inspections and exercises at sea, Alger departed Recife on 23 February and moored the same day at

Natal, Brazil Natal (), literally ''Christmas'' or ''natal'' ("birth") is the capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Norte, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern Brazil. According to Brazilian Institute of Geograp ...

Decommissioning

On 10 March 1945, ''Alger'' was decommissioned and loaned to the Brazilian Navy. Her name was struck from the

Navy Directory A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 20 July 1953, and title to the ship was transferred outright to the government of Brazil as ''Babitonga'' (D-16). She was stricken and scrapped in 1964.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alger (DE-101) Cannon-class destroyer escorts of the United States Navy Ships built in Wilmington, Delaware 1943 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Bertioga-class destroyer escorts Cannon-class destroyer escorts of the Brazilian Navy World War II frigates of Brazil