US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II
US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II

Author: Mark Lardas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-11-26

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1472839757

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The Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean-­going escort built for the United States Navy – a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US. Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war. They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy). The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.

The Buckley-class Destroyer Escorts
The Buckley-class Destroyer Escorts

Author: Bruce Hampton Franklin

Publisher: US Naval Institute Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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The text describes the development of the class, armament, major conversion programs, differences between the American and British ships, and the operational history of Buckleys in the U.S. and Royal Navies. Throughout the book, recollections and contemporary observations from the men who served aboard these ships are used to provide a personal touch to the history of these "Little Wolves."

Atlantic Escorts
Atlantic Escorts

Author: David Brown

Publisher: Seaforth Publishing

Published: 2007-11-15

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1844157024

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Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a rapid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness.

US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II
US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II

Author: Mark Lardas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-11-26

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1472839722

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The Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean-­going escort built for the United States Navy – a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US. Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war. They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy). The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.

Memories of My Three Years Aboard Destroyer Escorts
Memories of My Three Years Aboard Destroyer Escorts

Author: John J. Sheehan

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2014-02-18

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1493170031

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John J. Sheehan, LTJG USN (ret.) John Joseph Sheehan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 27. 1935 to Margaret and Joseph Sheehan, Sr. He attended St. Timothy Parochial School in the Mayfair section of the city. He is a 1952 graduate of St. Josephs Preparatory School, (The Prep) and St. Josephs College (now University) in 1956. John enlisted in the United States Navy and graduated from the Naval Officers Candidate School in 1956. John served as Communications Officer on the USS Cross and the USS Chamber until his honorable discharge as a Lieutenant JG in 1959. Upon his retirement from the City of Philadelphia Comptrollers Office, John use the logs from the Library of Congress to research material from his real life experiences aboard ship. John lives in Philadelphia with his wife of fifty years, Ellen. He is the father of Ann Marie Matekovic, John Sheehan, Jr. and Ellyn Taylor and the grandfather of Katelyn and Laura Matekovic, Casey and Megan Sheehan and Charles, Kelley and Joseph Taylor.

Destroyers At Normandy: Naval Gunfire Support At Omaha Beach [Illustrated Edition]
Destroyers At Normandy: Naval Gunfire Support At Omaha Beach [Illustrated Edition]

Author: William B. Kirkland

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1786257653

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Includes numerous maps and illustrations. This monograph provides first-hand accounts of Destroyer Squadron 18 during this critical battle upon which so much of the success of our campaign in Europe would depend. Their experience at Omaha Beach can be looked upon as typical of most U.S. warships engaged at Normandy. On the other hand, from the author’s research it appears evident that this destroyer squadron, with their British counterparts, may have had a more pivotal influence on the breakout from the beachhead and the success of the subsequent campaign than was heretofore realized. Its contributions certainly provide a basis for discussion among veterans and research by historians, as well as a solid, professional account of naval action in support of the Normandy landings.

Tin Cans and Greyhounds
Tin Cans and Greyhounds

Author: Clint Johnson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2019-02-12

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1621577678

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For men on destroyer-class warships during World War I and World War II, battles were waged “against overwhelming odds from which survival could not be expected.” Those were the words Lieutenant Commander Robert Copeland calmly told his crew as their tiny, unarmored destroyer escort rushed toward giant, armored Japanese battleships at the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. This action-packed narrative history of destroyer-class ships brings readers inside the half-inch-thick hulls to meet the men who fired the ships' guns, torpedoes, hedgehogs, and depth charges. Nicknamed "tin cans" or "greyhounds," destroyers were fast escort and attack ships that proved indispensable to America's military victories. Beginning with destroyers' first incarnation as torpedo boats in 1874 and ending with World War II, author Clint Johnson shares the riveting stories of the Destroyer Men who fought from inside a "tin can"—risking death by cannons, bombs, torpedoes, fire, and drowning. The British invented destroyers, the Japanese improved them, and the Germans failed miserably with them. It was the Americans who perfected destroyers as the best fighting ship in two world wars. Tin Cans & Greyhounds compares the designs of these countries with focus on the old, modified World War I destroyers, and the new and numerous World War II destroyers of the United States. Tin Cans & Greyhounds details how destroyers fought submarines, escorted convoys, rescued sailors and airmen, downed aircraft, shelled beaches, and attacked armored battleships and cruisers with nothing more than a half-inch of steel separating their crews from the dark waves.