Dealey class destroyer escort (1953)

13 ships, 1954-1973

The Dealey class were the first attempt to build dedicated ASW vessel after WW2 by the US Navy. The primary goal was to replace the PC type submarine chasers of WW2, and to provide a ship that could be built en masse in case of war. A large, seaworthy, fast, well equipped enough platform with the latest in sonars and ASW armament to face the latest Soviet Submarines, said to be soon build by the hundreds on the model of the German Type XXI. However only thirteen of project SBC 72 escort destroyer were ultimately built as they had been found too costly and underarmed. They were modernized under FRAM in the 1960s to stay relevant until the early-1970s but apart two, they were all stricken and sold for BU in 1972-73 after just 20 years service, replaced by more relevant vessels.

The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Hooper (DE-1026) off the fantail of the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge (CVS-33), circa in 1960. She is pulling into position to receive fuel from the carrier while underway.

Development

General ASW surface fleet context

The Dealey class is an interesting introduction to the topic of Cold War US Frigates. Because it started with destroyer escorts, just like in WW2, a continution of the 1943 John C. Butler class, part of a 500+ strong escort force. The existence of a large legacy fleet, both destroyers that could be converted (as the FRAM later) and destroyer escort (DE) in large quantities made the congress adverse to finance a new class of ASW ships that soon. However the true reason behind the first USN destroyer escort class in the cold war was different: The original requirement came from the need to replace the PC-461-class submarine chaser for coastal convoy escort and patrol. These 450 tonnes vessels had been turned into 350 new constructions from 1940 to 1944 to fill a capacity gap between the long range, mid-oceanic destroyer escort and coastal waters assets, which were inherited from the great war, the Eagle Boats and SC boats. The first were mediocre, the second wooden-built as emergency, and they were no longer there.

So the PC and their little brothers, the wooden-built SC class were designed to fill that capability gap, which became even more urgent as the German U-Boat warfare reached unprepared US waters in early 1942. When production stopped in 1945, these “little ships”, even though they had been designed as expandable, were still around with little service. They resumed their patrol escort missions, but the cold war conditions changed the game: The new threat, from 1947 onwards, was the fear of hundreds of Type XXI-derived Soviet submarines infesting US waters. This new generation was too fast for the PCs, limited to diesels and 20 knots. And new weapons such as the hedgehog and their planned successors, had made depth charge somewhat obsolete. Something new was needed. SC would be scrapped, but PCs were extracted from mothballs to be transferred under MDAP and some lingered under foreign flags until the late 1960s for some. After World War II, the US Navy also retained many of its DEs until approximately 1960 and some into the 1970s after some upgrades.

The need for a PC replacement

USS PC 815 as completed

So what the Navy needed in 1949 was essentially a modenrized version of the PCs, at first simply upgraded versions but with more modern sonar and a better ASW suite, plus extra speed required to counter this new generation of submarines. They were also also designed with mobilization in mind, simplified for mass production and with a single propeller shaft to reduce bottlenecks and ease the industry effort. So in short the new ships were designed on the following requirements:

Enough range for proper coastal convoy escort/patrol role
Seaworthy enough to venture mid-Atlantic if needed
Large enouh to carry a modern ASW weapons suite and associated sensors
Fast enough to catch up wit the latest Soviet subs
Simple enough for mass production in wartime

They were designed in 1948-49 as a reaction to the limitations of the existing PC class submarine chasers, too small, underarmed and il-equipped for modern ASW, too slow and short-legged to catch modern submarines. The US BuShip soon followed the conclusion of the admiralty board that this new ship would be of the size of the existing legacy destroyer escorts. But by 1950, the requirement changed for an “Ocean Escort” capable of at least 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) fully loaded, plus having an endurance now setup as 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

Cancellation

USS Dealey, src history navy mil.

The new armament feature would be its ahead-throwing anti-submarine weapon. This was a rapidly evolving R&D field and at first, so as a conservative measure it was planned to be equipped with the reliable and trusted Mark 17, a new, large (60 shots), 5-inches/38 compatible trainable Hedgehog, derived from WW2 anti-submarine spigot mortars. However naval tech caught up soon and new weapons and sensors would be fitted while design went on. The Dealey class were Authorized and laid down in 1952. The names camee from awarded servicemen killed in action just like WW2 DEs. The USS Dealey acted as a prototype FY1952, with the follow-up ships ordered under FY1953. However, production ended because the naval staff considered them too expensive at $12 million, for mass production. Instead the revised Claud Jones class were built.

Foreign Inspiration

For the same reason, the associated NATO procurement program financed under MDAP also planned for DE-1039, 1042, and 1046 to be authorized as offshore procurements for the Portugese Navy, DE-1007 thru 1013 and 1016 thru 1019 for the French Navy, and DE-1020 for the Italian Navy, all to be built locally in national shipyards to the DE-1006 specification. Fifteen offshore procurements were planned and cancelled. Much hope as placed on the weapon alfa, but it proved vastly inferior to the ASROC, hence a shortened service between 15 and 20 years only. Eventually local designs were built still, inspired more of less closely by the Dealeys. The French had probably the most different as the “Le Normand” class (11 built). The Marina Militare received the single “Cigno” on a modified Italian design as well.

Only the three Admiral Pereira da Silva-class frigates built by Lisnave and Viana do Castelo in 1962-68 were close to the original Dealey, but they lacked the weapon alfa and instead had two 76 mm guns, two triple 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes, two 375 mm (14.75 in) anti-submarine rocket launchers and two depth charge throwers. They remained active for far longer, until 1989. The other case were the five Oslo-class frigate built in 1964-66, which also ended quite different guided missile, versatile frigate with Sea Sparrow SAM and Pinguin SSMs. The ASW suite was reduced to triple 324 mm standard TTs. But the outlook was soon very much the same as a Dealey class. In that case also, half the cost was paid by the United States as a part of the Mutual Defense Assistance Program.

Design of the class, SCB 72

Hull and general design

The final ships was provisionally called the DE-1006 class when design was drafted for approval in 1951. The final hull resembled that of the previous destoryer escort, over a 1,314 long tons (1,335 t) light displacement and 1,877 long tons (1,907 t) full load, more than the last Butler class DEs. The overall dimensions changed as well, to 314 ft 6 in (95.86 m) in overall lenght, 308 feet (93.9 m) at the waterline, for a beam of 36 ft 9 in (11.20 m) and a draft of 18 ft (5.5 m). So the hull was longer, but slightly narrower (from 37 ft (11.3 m)), as was the draft. The Butler were limited to a 13 ft 4 in (4.1 m) mean draft. However the next two ships were ordered FY1954 and the next eight FY1955 for thirteen total, with orders placed bertween New York Shipbuilding, NJ (4 ships), Bath Iron Works, ME (3 ships), Defoe Shipbuilding, MI (2 ships) and Puget Sound Bridge , WA (2 ships) as well as Alameda Shipyard, CA (2 ships) to keep their workforces active.

Now on their outlook, their hulls shared many similarities, with a narrow forward section and fine hull lines, then a broader aft section but no longer a rounded poop, now it was a transom. It was flushed-decked and quite similar seen from its profile, but the supersturcture was cut down and made more compact. Back in 1940 when the basic design of the previous DEs was planned indeed, the adversaries of the new ships were U-Boats but also German commerce raiders. The three 3-in main guns were capable of limited AA fire but were mostly intended for A/S work. ASW armament started to integrate hedgehog but the main armament was still the generous (130) depth charge suite aft. Sonar tech was still limited, for short range detection, and only if slowing the ship down to avoid noise interference.

So the new superstructure was completely different, based around the new planned armament: Two AA-first, A/S second 3-in Mark 33 mounts, one shielded forward behind a tall, circular wave breaker, and a second one aft, in another circular wave brearer, but unshielded. In front of the bridge, that was further aft than regular DEs, was the location reserved for the Mark 17 Hedgehog, but as the first ships were completing, it was changed for the new Weapon Alfa system, a one-tube ancestor of ASROC. The superstructure bridge was three-faceted and bulky but not very tall, and like destroyers, the sides were bulwarked to preserve the aft deck from water running in heavy weather. This bulwarking work was completed above by the two wings. It should be nothed that the superstructure inaugurated the use of aluminium to save top weight, just as the contemporary aluminum Forrest Sherman class soon to be completed.

The bridge was a blocky 3-storey tall structure which ended with a one-level amidship deck structure, the single capped funnel and two platforms, later used to fit 324 m ASW torpedo tubes, but unused then. There was a single ASW DC rack at the poop, and that was it. The mainmast was a lattice in order to accomodate new, heavier sensors. In its early version, the enclosed bridge was located further aft of the forward section, making for an open bridge in front of it. That was later changed for a full front 3-storey high bridge. The ships also have two small boats for a crew of 170 versus 200 on the previous DEs thanks to the smaller armament. All in all, these ships, later criticed as under-armed were everything the Navy asked for. This “first generation” of post-World war II destroyer escort had a low silhouette, low center of gravity to leav room for future upgrades, as well as a low cost and small crew, reducing service expenditures in peace time.

Powerplant

If diesel was envisioned like for the WW2 DEs, it was dropped for more classic steam turbine machinery as there was no shortage in peacetime. They were retained for navy personal aplenty to manage them, and albeit slow to built-up steam, they provided plenty of power to reach the desired speed. The major change compared to legacy WW2 DEs was however the single shaft, single screw arrangement. This simplified construction a lot in case of wartime production, and was compensated by two rudders instead of one to regain agility.

Armament

Initially USS Dealey alone initially carried a British Squid ASW mortar and her twelve sisters, completed over three-years, mounted the Weapon Alfa. They ahd a single depth charge track aft plus six projectors. The two initial hedgehogs were not mounted. This ASW suite was well served by the SQS-4 of the Mitschers, but they were soon criticized for being under-armed. This was corrected in their FRAM upgrade from 1960, as they were seaworthy—worthy and agile with their tight turning radius. However the threat of 1960 nuclear-powered Soviet submarine they faced urged heavy modification under the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization program FY1962, but for ten ships excluding Dealey, Cromwell and Courtney. See below.

3-in/50 Mark 33

Designed as replacement for the Bofors, these were the ultimate evolution of the good old 3-inches gun in US service since the 1890s. The goal was to procure the entire USN with a better system than the heavy 5-in/38 DP, able to deal with Kamikaze, but there was no intermediate caliber that could fire a VT fuzed shell. That became the main motivation behind the Mark 33 design, a twin mounting for two barrels of 3-in/50 Mark 22, rushed by BuOrd for test firing on 1 September 1945. But it really was ready and produced en masse after the end of the war, and deployed as plannedon most USN ships. A licence was even acquired by Spain.

Specs: Mass 1,760 lbs. (798 kg) not including auto-loader, barrel 159.7 in (4.055 m) oa.
Fired the AA VT Mark 31 Mod 1: 24 lbs. (10.9 kg), HC Mark 27 Mod 1: 24 lbs. (10.9 kg) or ASP M78: 24.4 lbs. (11.1 kg)
MV 2,700 fps (823 mps), Rate Of Fire 45-50 rpm, range up to 29,800 feet (9,083 m), max, 19,640 feet (5,986 m) optimal.

Hedgehog Mark 17

This Proposed new Hedgehog had a 5 inches/38 mounting like the standard DP gun to recycle ammunition charges, and was almost adopted for the Dealey class (DE-1006) destroyer escorts in 1951 to fire a total of 61 rounds. However technology went ahead in between and the system was recoignized inferior, and Weapon Able in developement was chosen instead.

Squid Mk.3

Fitted instead of the Hedgehog Mark 17 initially planned, on USS Dealey alone in 1954, fitted on the forward platform at the foot of the bridge, behind the main turret. This triple barrel mortar was designed to fire a triangular pattern of rocker-propelled heavy depth charges around a target, creating an interlocking pressure wave supposed to break the presure hull of a submarine.

Mass: 10 tons, Shell 440 lb (200 kg) 12 in (305 mm), warhead 207 lb (94 kg) Minol II.
Effective range 275 yards (250 m), time fuse. It was evaluated but juged not much superior to the hedgehog and was replaced in 1954.

Weapon Alfa Mk.108

Weapon Alfa Mark 108 USN official manual booklet (src navweaps)

The Mark 108 launcher was the primary ASW weapon of the Dealey class. Initially called “Weapon Able” was a remotely controlled, automatically loaded rocket launcher. It fired the 12.75-inch Mark 1/Mark 2 underwater rocket. Below was a ready-service magazine with rocket hoist as well as a lower rocket hoist and control equipment over two stages, filling most of the internal hull space down to the bottom. It replaced the Squid at completion on all ships.
The guide was a 12.75-inch tube, pivoting in the trunnion bearings on a pedestal with a depression of 10 degrees, elevation 90 degrees, and the muzzle was protected by a circular blast deflector to alleviate the blast and avoid the operator to be blinded as the rocket left the guide.

The pedestal had a rotating assembly and stand mounted on deck forward of the bridge, to superfiring above the gun mount. Inside were roller bearing paths and training rack. A circular shield was added another blast deflector to collect gasses from the rocket ignition, sent upward over it. Power drives were used for training and elevation either side of the pedestal and within the shield. Rate was 12 rounds per minute. It could be adapted also to fire the 4-inch, subcaliber Mark 2 Rocket for shore bombardment or other uses.

The Mark I differed from the Mark II by its range, 760 yards (695 m) for the Mark I and 975 yards (892 m) for the Mark II. Flight time differed also from 10.9 seconds to 14.2 seconds.
Down to 200 feet (61 m) at max range this ranged from 26.5 to 33.1 sec. also between types. However specs were the same otherwise: 525 lbs. (238 kg) for a lenght of 102.5 in (2.60 m), 12.75 in (320 cm) diameter, a sink rate of 38 fps. (11.6 mps) and carrying the same 250 lbs. (113 kg) TNT/Torpex warhead. The weapon alfa remained in service with the Dealey class until they were retired. By 1960 this system was judged way inferior to the ASROC, that could fire an acoustic torpedo at a much further distance and with an almost certain hit probabibility. Weapon Alfa, despite its sophistication, was still essentially an improved hedgehog.

Planned Torpedo Racks

Torpedo passing under USS Bridget

These ships were also planned with two torpedo racks but it seems they had never been installed. Instead, classic triple 324mm ASW TTs were installed in their FRAM upgrade. If installed, they could have been the 19 inches (48.3 cm) Mark 32 torpedoes for surface ships designed during the war from 1942 and tested from 1944, Weighting 700 lbs. (318 kg) for 6 ft 11 in (2.108 m) and a warhead of 107 lbs. (49 kg) HBX. Powered by an electric motor to be invisible under the surface, they could go up to 9,600 yards (8,800 m) at 12 knots but were acoustic. However only ten Mod 1 were completed at Leeds and Northrop before the program ended in 1945, but 320 Mod 2 were manufactured by General Electric in the early 1950s, in service until 1955 but replaced by the Mark 43.

Depth Charges

The Dealey class all had two Y-Guns ((Depht Charge Projectors), a baseline, trusted, but now obsolete system, usable as backup for close range pounding and fitted on the ships’ fantail. At that stage in 1955, the Dealey class would have operated either ww2 stocks of Mark 9 teardrop Mod 2 (340 lbs. (154 kg), WH 190 lbs. (86 kg) TNT, setup down to 600 ft). Or the Mark 12 (limited numbers with a 45 lbs. (20 kg) charge and contact-fuzed), or the Mark 14 that used a RCA Doppler pistol, albeit production was also cancelled in 1945.

More likely the Mark 16 depht charge was the norm on these ships. Introduced in 1946, this was the last classic DC in USN service ever developed. Total Weight was 435 lbs. (197 kg), Explosive Charge 295 lbs. (134 kg) of Torpex for a sink Rate/Terminal Velocity of 31 fps (9.4 mps) teardrop shape, and setting up to 2,500 feet (762 m), for projector use only. They might have carried both the Mod 0 which was hydrostatic, and the Mod 1 which was acoustic depending on the situation.

Sensors

The initial suite comprised the SPS-5, SPS-6C, two SPG-34 radars, SQS-4 sonar

SPS-5

frequency 6275 to 6575 MHz, later 5450 to 5285 MHz. PRF 683 Hz. Pulsewidth 0.5 µs, later: 0.37 µs. PP 285 kW, Range 30 NM (55 km). Beamwidth 1.75°, rotation 5 rpm.

SPS-6C

The AN/SPS-6C is similar to the AN/SPS-6B, but with a lighter antenna, 800 lb (360 kg) compared to the conventional 1,000 lb (450 kg). On the other hand, for this reason, the shock resistance is low and the rotation speed is also reduced. 2D radar from Bendix and Westinghouse Electric as air-search radar (ASR). L Band 1.25–1.35 GHz (24.0–22.2 cm), Range 70–140 nmi (81–161 mi; 130–260 km), PP 500 kW peak.

SPG-34

Fire control radar for the Mark 33 mounts, on the mounts themselves, one fore and one aft. Coupled with the Mark 57 gun director, and Mark 63 gunfire control system for AA fire, with a parabolic reflector 40-in wide, fed by cutler-feed. Working on X band for a peak power of 30 kW, range 23 km, beamwidth 2.4°.

SQS-4 sonar

The AN/SQS-4 was a long-range active/passive, search and attack sonar with an operating frequency of 14 KHz, with selectable pulse lengths of 6, 30, or 80 ms and respective power outputs of 50, 30, and 10 kW. Range scales 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, and 15,000 yards (914, 2,286, 4,572, 9,144, and 13,716 m).

Modernized Sensors

Only mentioned here due to the lack of space (FRAM):
SQS-23 sonar relacing the SQS-4 (all), VDS sonar (Dealey, Cromwell, Courtney), WLR-1 ECM suite (all).

⚙ specifications
Displacement	1,314 long tons (1,335 t) light, 1,877 long tons (1,907 t) full load
Dimensions	314 ft 6 in x 36 ft 9 in x 18 ft (95.86 x 11.2 x 5.5 m)
Propulsion	1 shaft De Laval geared turbine, 2× Foster-Wheeler boilers 20,000 shp (15 MW)
Speed	25 knots (29 mph; 46 km/h), 27 kts max.
Range	6000 nm, 12 kts
Armament	4× 3-in/50, 4× 21-in TTs, 2× DCR, 2× Hedgehog, 2× DCT
Sensors	Mark 63 FCS, SPS-5, SPS-6C, 2x SPG-34 radars, SQS-4 sonar
Crew	170-173

Dealey FRAM upgrade (1960)

dash All of the class except Dealey, Cromwell and Courtney were upgraded as per the FY1962 FRAM modernization (Fleet Rehabilitation & Modernization) with facilities for the DASH drone, its hangar and helicopter deck replacing the aft 3-inch gun mount. The SQS-23 sonar replaced the SQS-4 as seen above. But the three mentioned having missed FRAM received a VDS sonar instead (Variable Depth Sonar). USS Dealey lost her Squid in “the late 1960s” according to some sources, or 1954 for others. Weapon Alfa launchers were removed late in their career (from 1970 onwards), and triple Mark 32 torpedo tubes installed for Mark 44 or Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedoes. The much more advanced SQS-23 sonar (also on the Charles F. Adams class) was indeed their best asset fafter refit, capable of detecting new Soviets subs far away thanks to a massive 20-ft transducer for a 10,000 yard direct path detection range.

The DASH unmanned helicopter system in addition could drop sonobuoys to extend this range or deliver the Mk 46 homing torpedo. It could extent this ASW bubble around the destroyer escort up to 72,000 yards and monitoring sonobuoys with 92% detection and tracking. However as it was seen on many other posts, DASH was an over-ambitious project, not ready for the early 1960s technology. The lack of ASROC ended the Dealey carrer prematurely, as well as the lack of a sufficient helipad for a LAMPS Mk I Seasprite manned helicopter in 1972, as introduced on the Knox class frigates, which benefited from a much longer career. The FRAM upgrade barely adressed the main critic of them being underarmed.

This upgrade was the last Navy’s attempt to keep this early ASW design into production in case of war, for quick mobilization. But the Dealeys were one-trick poneys, with a single engine room, single screw (but twin rudders for sharp turns) all-aluminum structure saving 40%+ top weight. Later being proven a fire hazard. But they were also the first electronically equipped to handle convoy work. In any case, the Navy wanted to adress their issues with the next Claud Jones, completely new animals.

uss hooper awaiting scrapping
US Hooper awaiting scrapping at the Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. Kearny, New Jersey, June 1974

USS Dealey DE-1006 (1953)

Dealey, the lead ship, was ordered first and alone from Bath Iron Works in Maine, laid down on 15 December 1952 launched on 8 November 1953 and commissioned on 3 June 1954 as the prototype. She was homeported at NS Newport in Rhode Island, for local exercises notably to Key West, and with the Fleet Sonar School as well as convoy exercises in the Caribbean. On 4 January 1957 she departed for a South American cruise, back on 21 March 1957 for East Coast drills and by Sept. and October, NATO exercises in the Irish Sea, stopping at Plymouth, Brest and Cherbourg. On 12 May 1958 she was sent to the Mediterranean as flagship, Escort Squadron 10 (CortRon 10), screening USS Wasp, carrier group of the Sixth Fleet. She also patrolled the eastern Mediterranean during the Lebanon crisis an was back home on 7 October 1958.

On 3 February 1959 she was sent off Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and after exercises, transited the Panama Canal to Buenaventura in Colombia and Salinas in Ecuador as well as Talara, Callao, Valparaíso and Antofagasta, for drills with local navies and back to Newport on 20 April 1959. She took part in NATO exercises and stopped at Derry, Northern Ireland as well as Greenwich, Lisbon and back on on 11 October before final drills off Narragansett Ba. In 1960 she had a Caribbean cruise and amphibious exercise off the Virginia/North Carolina until 20 June. She had a quick overhaul at Brooklyn, New York and back on 22 July. On 22 August she departed for exercises in the Caribbean, and South America via Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama Canal, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Straits of Magellan, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Trinidad and back, while riding out a wild storm, she arrived coated in ice on 13 December 1960. No more records (yet). She was decommissioned on 28 July 1972 and stricken but transferred to the Uruguayan Navy as ROU 18 De Julio (DE-3), entering Montevideo on 17 April 1973. In 1981 she rescued the crew of the merchant ship MS Harp (storm) and was stricken, BU in 1991.

USS Cromwell DE-1014 (1954)

USS Cromwell DE-1014

Cromwell was laid down at Bath Iron Works on 3 August 1953, launched on 4 June 1954 and commissioned on 24 November 1954. She was based first at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, joining ASW exercises from Iceland to the Virgin Islands and with NATO, in the Caribbean or as schoolship for the Fleet Sonar School, Key West. By September-October 1957 she joined NATO exercises off England and France. In May-October 1958, she served in the Mediterranean, and eastern Mediterranean for the Lebanon Crisis. Between February and April 1959, she cruised to South America and had her largest exercise with the Peruvian Navy. In August, September, October 1959, she was in Atlantic NATO operation. In 1960 she took part in amphibious exercises with Marines (see above), notably on the North Carolina coast followed by NATO exercises by the fall of 1960, and East Coast again. There are no logs for the remainder of her career yet. She was decommissioned and stricken on 5 July 1972, scheduled to be transferred to New Zealand, but instead sold for scrap on 15 June 1973.

USS Hammerberg DE-1015 (1954)

Hammerberg DE-1015

Hammerberg was ordered from Bath Iron Works, laid down on 12 November 1953, launched on 20 August 1954 and commissioned on 2 March 1955. She left Newport on 3 September 1957 for maneuvers with NATO, Irish Sea and visits in Plymouth, and Brest, back on 21 October. She later had hunter-killer exercises with USS Tarawa, and left Newport on 1 April 1958 to Bodø in Norway, for NATO combined exercises with the Royal Norwegian Navy and back to Boston on 14 May. In August-September 1958 she jooned TF-88 for Operation Argus, nuclear tests in the very high atmosphere. Sehe left on 27 January 1959 for Guantanamo Bay and refresher training, ASW training with Chile and Peru and back on 21 April. From May 1959 to February 1960 she alterned ASW exercises and cruises to Newfoundland and Puerto Rico. In March-April 1960 she had Amphibious operations at Onslow Beach, N.C. and on 23 August 1960 started a second South American cruise, back on 13 December. She made another from 7 August 1961 but by November, at the request of the Organization of American States (OAS) she patrolled offshore the Dominican Republic during a government change, back on 1 December.

1962 saw Hammerberg in convoy escort operations and Fleet Sonar School work at Key West but on 7 November while underway to Mayport she was diverted to patrol the Florida Coast as the Cuban Missile Crisis flared up. On 29 November, the Kennedy’s administration had resolved the Crisis so she returned to Newport, rest and tender availability. In 1963 she had an overhaul at Boston and from June to November took part in “Unites IV” with a circumnavigation of South America and working with all South American navies met along the way. On 30 November, she was sent to Guantanamo Bay for “PHIBASWEX I-63” amphibious and ASW operation with 30 other Atlantic Fleet vessels, back HP on 17 December. In 1964 she took part in Operations “Springboard”, “Canus Silex”, and “Steel Pike”. By 8 February 1965, she headed for Northern Europe for NATO “Match Maker I” and “Pilot High”. On 3 May this was “Pole Star” off Halifax and back on 20 July, new refit at Boston, refresher off Guantanamo Bay and by August 1966 met her sister USS Van Voorhis to escort USS Leahy and USS Requin off Trinidad for “Unitas VII” until November. Late March 1967 saw her in escort of USS Essex (CVS 9), trying to rescue the crew of a downed SH3A Sikorsky Sea King, but this was unsuccessful.

In April 1967, she took part in “Clove Hitch III”, an amphibious assault drill in the Caribbean, also dropping anchor at San Juan and St. Thomas, back on 2 May. In June she took part in “Newlook” off Nova Scotia with other NATO ships from the Netherlands, Canada, and UK. She was then sent to New York City for R&R this weekend of 17 June. On the 28th she moved to Davisville for drydock installation a new screw and minor hull repairs. By late September, she sailed to the Mediterranean as part of USS Randolph (CVS-15) CBG. She visited Barcelona, Naples, Palma Majorca, and Gibraltar, back in mid-December. No further records. She was stricken and decommissioned the same day on 14 December 1973, sold for scrap 14 June 1974.

USS Courtney DE-1021 (1955)

Courtney was laid down at Defoe Shipbuilding on 2 September 1954, launched on 2 November 1955 and completed on 24 September 1956. She joined CortRon 10 at NS Newport on 26 April 1957, having extended drills in ASW and and convoy escort techniques, in the British West Indies, until 3 September. She had exercises next off Milford Haven in Wales from 14 September with NATO navies, and in the Irish Sea (Plymouth and Brest visits) and back on 21 October. She had later hunter-killer exercises off North Carolina, convoy exercises off Florida. She left Newport on 1 April 1958 for Reykjavík and Bodø, to train with the Royal Norwegian Navy, stopping at Antwerp, and back to NS Argentia, Newfoundland, then HP on 14 May. From 7 August to 30 September she took part in Operation Argus (see above). She was in Rio de Janeiro on 15-19 September and had a cruise in South American waters in February-March 1959 and exercises with the Colombian and Peruvian navies. August-September 1959 saw more NATO drills off Newfoundland and Northern Ireland but also England and Portugal. The early 1960s saw an East Coast cruise and exercises, notably amphibious off North Carolina. From August to December 1960 she was part of Operation Unitas in South America, and no further records. She was stricken on 14 December 1973, sold for BU 17 June 1974.

USS Lester DE-1022 (1957)

Lester ws ordered from Defoe Shipbuilding and laid down on 2 September 1954, launched on 5 January 1956 and completed on 14 June 1957. In December 1957, after her shakedown cruise, she reported at Newport and the Escort Squadron 14. She trained off New England until 8 February 1958 followed by convoy and ASW exercises offe Florida. On 17 February she rescued the men of the Italian oreship Bonitoz off Savannah. On 12 May she made a first Mediterranean TOD with CORTRONs 14, 10 and USS Wasp CBG. She stopped at Gibraltar on 21 May. In July she was off Lebanon, in barrier patrol. She was back at Newport on 7 October. For three months she was in ASW exercises with Task Group Charlie. On 6 February 1959, she joined Task Force 86 at Trinidad and later had a good will cruise to Latin America. On 5 May she was in Boston for overhaul, back HP in early September followed by refresher training and nATO drills. Back to Newport on 20 October she was with Task Group Charlie again.

In January 1960 she was in operation “Springboard”. In September-October she was in northern Europe for NATO winter convoy exercises, and back for 1961 “Springboard”. After North Atlantic drills she had another overhaul at Boston. In November she was off Guantanamo Bay for refresher training. She took part later in UNITAS III, 18,000 miles, receiving more than 20,000 visitors in her ports of call. Her modernization started at Boston from 12 September until January 1964, and back at Newport. She took part in a joint US-Canadian ASW operation in May, one in September in Escort Squadron 8. In late January 1965, she sailed for Key Wes for surveillance and for the Fleet Sonar School. On 16 March she departed for operation “Springboard” and a US-Canadian exercise in May, then “Pole Star.”

She had another restricted availability period (RAP) at Boston Naval Shipyard and back to Newport. On 31 January 1966, she took part in the Destroyer Escort Petty Officer Training Program. In June she trained cadets from West Point. On 15 October, she had an overhaul at Boston completed on 24 January 1967. She saw service at the Sonar School, had a refresher off Guantanamo Bay, and on 29 January returned to northern Europe and Mediterranean, back by September. In February through June 1968 she returned to Europe and the Mediterranean. In 1969 she took part in peacekeeping operations, readiness exercises off Newport and in 1970 was home ported to Naples. In 1973 her HP became Norfolk. She was decommissioned at NS Norfolk, stricken the same day on 14 December 197, sold for BU 18 June 1974.

USS Evans DE-1023 (1955)

Evans was ordered from Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging co. and laid down on 8 April 1955, launched on 14 September 1955 and commissioned on 14 June 1957. Her home port on the Pacific became thus San Diego and from 4 August she had shakedown off the west coast followed by a deployment from 21 January 1958 to 27 June with Cdr. Naval Forces Marianas, Pacific territories under UN trust. She visited Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Korea, training with all these navies. For her second tour of duty (TOD) from 8 January 1959 to 13 June, she entered Leyte Gulf on 7 February for memorial services, for her namesake WW2 Commander Ernest Evans. She trained with the Philippines Navy, patrolled the Taiwan Strait, had R&R at Hong Kong, joined exercises off Okinawa. On 14 April she was back on the west coast but returned to the western Pacific until 21 July 1960 and back to the coast. She had others WestPac in 1962-1963 and this time stopped in Hawaii as well as in Japan, Hong Kong bt was rushed to Vietnam after the Tonkin Gulf incident.
She left San Diego for a 6th Westpac from January 1966 via Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines for a second Vietnam tour in March, April, July 1966.

Evans departed San Diego for a 7th Westpac from 27 March 1967 via Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka, but spent May in the Sea of Japan and stopped in Sasebo. She returned on Yankee Station from 23 May until 4 June 1967 bacl to Subic Bay, and Yankee Station agaon from 18 to 27 June, again Subic Bay and Manila. On 10-25 July she took part in Operation Sea Dog in convoy protection exercise and used in “combat” her Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH as well. She visited Lingayen Gulf and Bang Saen in Thailand for R&R and back to Yankee Station on 2-15 August, for R&R in Hong Kong, and to Sasebo on 24 August for maintenance, but back again at Yankee Station from 10 September via Kaohsiung in Taiwan until early October, and back to Japan, then San Diego on the 28th. By September 1968, she entered the Naval Reserve Force, Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27 at Seattle and remained there until decommissioned on 3 December 1973, sold for scrap in 1974, awarded 5 Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals and 7 Vietnam Service Medals.

USS Bridget DE-1024 (1956)

Bridget was ordered from Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging co. yard, and laid down on 19 September 1955, launched on 25 April 1956 and commissioned on 24 October 1957 at a Cost of $6.000.000. She was named for Francis Joseph Bridget, naval aviator of Patrol Wing 10 over the Philippines on 8 December 1941. He was in command of a Naval Battalion in the Battle of the Points, part of the infamous Bataan POWs, killed 15 December 1944 when his ship sank off Olongapo. No records (yet). USS Bridget remained in service from 1957 to 1973, decommissioned in November 1973, stricken 12 Nov. the same year, sold for scrap.

USS Bauer DE-1025 (1957)

Bauer was ordered from Bethlehem Steel, Alameda Shipyard and laid down on 1 December 1955, launched on 4 June 1957 and commissioned on 21 November 1957. Assigned to Escort Squadron 3 San Diego, she had six months preparatory training and by 12 June 1958, departed San Diego for the 7th Fleet and 1st WestPac TOD, enterning Yokosuka on 2 July to join an ASW task group in the East China Sea over five months, and visiting ports in Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, and back on 4 December. Still with CortRon 3, she trained off San Diego until 9 September 1959, and sailed for another Westpac via Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and taking part in President Eisenhower’s “People to People” program, offering tours to civilians, and contributing to local charities or competitive sports with foreign militaries. By mid-October, she visited Tacloban in the Philippines for the celebration of the Leyte landings. She was back to San Diego in mid-February 1960. On 1 July she joined the new CortDiv 31 with Evans, Bridget and Hooper. By March 1961, she started her third WestPac, a repeat of the previous one, back on 18 September.

By mid-January 1962 she had realistic sonar training with the subs USS Redfish and Queenfish until 6 March. She was rydocked at San Diego for her FRAM conversion, resuming on 6 June ASW training off San Diego. She trained with the modern Skipjack class USS Scamp (SSN-588) and escorted the USS Yorktown CBG in September. She departed San Diego on 26 October with Yorktown and CortDiv 31 for Pearl Harbor and had two ASW exercises until 26 November, heading for Japan, Yokosuka on 6 December, and four months operations with 7th Fleet. In January 1963, she trained with USS Charr and screened Yorktown. In February-March, she was in the South China Sea and trained with USS Swordfish on 9 April in Philippine waters. She left Manila in April for the South China Sea, joining British, Australian, Thai, and Pakistani warships for Operation “Sea Serpent” and to practice convoy-screening. She was back to the Philippines on 8 May but was sent to rescue the crew of an Australian helicopter crash off Manila (none saved). She was in Sasebo on 13 May for local exercises and still CBG Yorktown drills, then proceeded back home on 6 June, San Diego 18 June. She trained with the radar picket submarine USS Salmon in August, had shore bombardment practice, AW counter-measures tests with USS Catfish. By January 1964, she joined USS Kearsarge CBG and trained with USS Permit and Pomodon until 19 March and a three-week overhaul at San Diego. On 13 April she had a refresher and on 19 June, departed for a WestPac.

On 26 June 1964, she was in Pearl Harbor for three weeks training for Vietnam until 20 Jul and she sailed to Yokosuka, left on 5 August for Yankee Station on the 11th for ASW protection in the South China Sea and a few stops R&R and supply at Subic Bay, Sasebo, and Hong Kong, all until 30 November and departure for home. From 25 January 1965 she had plenty of new exercises with 12 trainees from the Pacific Fleet ASW school. She escreened USS Oriskany and Bennington. She trained with amphibious forces off San Diego and by March, shadowed an inquisitive Russian trawler in the exercise area. She also had ASW drills off Coronado with the Greek submarine Triaina. She took part later in a sonar project for the Fleet ASW School but was drydocked at Long Beach in July, through August then to 10 October. Her last mods lasted until 26 January and back to San Diego, more training, and be sent to Alaskan waters on 29 March 1966 via Esquimalt, Juneau and Kodiak, arriving in Adak on 15 April, Attu on 17 April for Bering Sea exercises (against sSoviet SSBNs) for five weeks. She visited Pearl Harbor before heading for San Diego on 13 June and having 5 months local exercises. She was back at Pearl Harbor on 11 November, joining USS Bennington and heading for Japan on 28 November, Yokosuka by 8 December, Kaohsiung on 10 December, Taiwan Strait patrols until 12 January 1967 and Yankee Station on 18 December, plane guard for carriers for 10 weeks and on 7 March, returned to Sasebo and had a refit at S.S.K. Shipyard for eight weeks until 30 May, steaming for home via Midway and Pearl Harbor.

Back to San Diego on 16 June for leave and upkeep, she had local training operations, notably DASH flights until 5 September and was recalled for Alaskan waters, Adak on 13 September, keept in port in a severe storm and rescuing men from the harbor tug Pawtucket, which drifted and punched a small hole in her hull. On 15 September the storm had her severing moorings and driving her against the pier. She was moved to Amchitka but had just a single day of Arctic sonar tracking training before heading for Pearl Harbor (30 September) then San Diego (8 October). She remained there after repairs for 11 months. She took part in a scientifc tracking of California gray whales with sono-buoys off Baja in Mexico. On 30 August she entered the Reserve Training Compound in San Diego, then ResDesRon 27, for reservist training. By January 1969, she was in the Exercise “Bellcurve”. In April-May she trained more reservists and worked with the Anti-Submarine Warfare School. On 21 May she had an overhaul at Long Beach until 26 August and back training reservists notably a southern cruise from 24 March 1970 (Mazatlan), weekend drills over three years and visiting many distinations. USS Darter was the target sub. She also trained with USS Ticonderoga and Coral Sea in January 1973 and was a training ship for the Parche Division, USNSCC. On 13 July, she failed her inspections and inspectors pointed out notably her inadequate communications system and worn out machinery, recommended disposal after a final reserve cruise by September. In San Diego she was decommissioned on 3 December 1973, struck. After MDAP transfer to the Turkish Navy fell through she was sold for BU. She won two battle stars for her Vietnam service.

USS Hooper DE-1026 (1957)

Hooper was ordered from Bethlehem Steel, Alameda Shipyard and laid down on 4 January 1956, launched on 1 August 1957 and commissioned on 18 March 1958. Hooper had her shakedown off San Diego (HP), before a first 7th Fleet WestPac TOD. She patorlled the Formosa strait and was back home on 9 April 1959. In 1961 she alternated between WestPac and local waters off San Diego. In January 1962, she worked as school ship at San Diego. She had her FRAM at Hunter’s Point from March. She had another Westpac and SEATO maneuvers in 1963. She trained in Hawaiian waters, and departed for another WestPack TOD from July 1964. In November she patrolled the Taiwan Strait and was back to San Diego on 16 December for coastal operations. On 6 January 1966 she joined Bridget, Evans and Bronstein with USS Yorktown CBG to Hawaii. She left on 7 February for Yokosuka, arrived on 17 February and from the 21st to 18 March patrolled the Formosa Strait. Next 6 months she operated off Vietnam, in and out of Yankee station in escort missions. On 15 July she left Yokosuka for San Diego and searched en route for a downed Royal Thailand Army DC-3 carrying famous WW2 General, Joseph Stilwell Jr. but for naught. Back to San Diego 22 July, she remained training off the western coast until the fall of 1967. She then started a Naval Reserve career at Long Beach Naval Station from 1968 to her decommission in 1973.

USS John Willis DE-1027 (1956)

John Willis was ordered from New York Shipbuilding and laid down on 5 July 1955, launched on 4 February 1956 and commissioned on 21 February 1957. She was named for John Harlan Willis, a navy hospital corpsman awared at Iwo Jima the Medal of Honor posthumously. She was based at Newport, Atlantic Fleet for her shakedown and a five-week cruise to Northern Europe, back on 14 July, for 10 months of ASW exercises, Atlantic seaboard, followed by a first Med TOD with the 6th Fleet from 12 May 195, via Gibraltar (21) for NATO exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean. She took part in the Lebanon crisis from 18 July, and stayed over two months in patrol. She left for home on 14 September, Newport on 7 October. Instead of FRAMM she had an auster modernization, entering NY Shipyard to have a prototype Variable Depth Sonar (VDS). She tested it for the rest of the fleet, from 4 February 1959, to the end of 1959 and 1960 testing and evaluating it along the Atlantic coast, from Newfoundland to Key West. She then took part in “Sea Spray” and “Sword Thrust” North Atlantic and stopped at Plymouth, then took part in NATO’s “Pipe Down”, back to Newport 20 October.

On 8 May 1961 she was sent to the Caribbean and patrolled the coast of the then troubled Dominican Republic. She returned there on 2 December for the recovery of Project Mercury MA-5 after the 29 November flight with a Chimp. President Balaguer called the US for help and she was back patrolling off the Dominican Republic by Pdt. John F. Kennedy on 2 December. Next she sailed to Northern Europe, Portsmouth by 8 January 1962 and the coast on 19 January. In the North Sea by 23 January underway to Horton in Norway she had SAR ops. for the Norwegian ship Eystein. She also helped Royal Norwegian Navy staff and engineers studying the construction details and characteristics of the Dealey-class for the future Oslo-class Frigates. She was back at Newport on 3 March. After the Caribbean in March 1963, on 15 April she worked with 30 NATO ships for “New Broom Eleven” in the North Atlantic. Next this was “Phibaswex” in December. She also worked for the ASW Tactical School at Norfolk and Fleet Sonar School at Key West. On 23 September she was in SAR for a MATS plane from Dover to the Azores. She worked with Escort Squadron 10 and Task Force 180 for amphibious exercise at Vieques, until 17 December. For the next three years she alternated between the Atlantic Coast and Caribbean and the school ship at Key West. She took part in 1964 and 1965 UNITAS V and VI and taking part in Ike’s “People-to-People” Program. She was overhauled at Boston from January to June 1966 with DASH installed and communications upgrades. She was assigned to Escort Squadron 8, returned to European waters on 29 May 1967, Norwegian coast in June, Western Europe and the 6th Fleet, Mediterranean tour.
In 1968 she returned to the Mediterranean with USS Essex into the North Atlantic and back to Newport in June. She was stricken on 14 July 1972, sold for BU on 8 May 1973.

USS Van Voorhis DE-1028 (1956)

Van Voorhis was ordered from New York Shipbuilding and laid down on 29 August 1955, launched on 28 July 1956 and commissoned on 22 April 1957. After shakedown training off Guantanamo Bay she joined Newport and CortRon 14 for escort operations along the east coast until May 1958. She then joined the Med 6th Fleet. She operated off Crete but by mid-July patrolled off Lebanon and supported the Marines until September. She was back at Newport in October. After east coast training until February 1959 she had a three-month cruise to South America. Nothing notable in 1960 but she had an eastern Atlantic six-week cruise, for a NATO exercise and port visits. However in the autumn of 1962, she was mobilized for the quarantine of Cuba from Mayport in Florida, but never really pating in the operation proper. In December she trained and prepared and on 15 February 1963, started a three-month goodwill cruise to Africa called “Solant Amity IV”, stopping at Monrovia, Lagos, Pointe Noire, Cape Town, roudning the cape and Lourenco Marques, Diego Suarez, Mombasa, Aden, Red Sea and Suez Canal to the Mediterranean on 1 May and liberty calls at Athens, Naples, Barcelona and back via Gibraltar and the Azores, to Newport on 24 May. After upkeep, ASW exercises in July, midshipman cruise until 1964, on 8 August she was reassigned to CortRon 8 as squadron flagship. The same routine repeated until January 1965.

She had an overhaul at Boston and DASH installed, followed by “Springboard” exercises in the Caribbean and tests off Norfolk in March-April and May, qualifications with DASH as the first destroyer escort to receive that system, all completed by 21 April. Exercises went on and by August 1966, she met her sister USS Hammerberg, escorting USS Leahy and the sub USS Requin off Trinidad for “Unitas VII”. In 1967, the same was repeated in South American waters. In early 1969, she worked around Florida and the West Indies and worked with the Fleet Sonar School at Key West this winter. From January 1970, she was prepared for conversion into a R&D platform to test the Interim Towed Array Surveillance System (ITASS). DASH was removed for ITASS, a new submarine detection gear. On 9 February this was started at Bethlehem Steel Shipyards, until March then four months of tests off Guantanamo Bay and Eleuthera in the Bahamas. By late August, she was sent to the Mediterranean from Newport via Gibraltar to Naples (9 September). She tested ITASS until late November. After stopping at Palma de Mallorca and Rota, she crossed the Atlantic on 26 November back to Newport. She spent 1971 in port, eight months but by September, the inspection and survey team found her unfit and she remained there until decommissioned on 1 July 1972, struck, sold for BU on 15 June 1973.

USS Hartley DE-1029 (1956)

Hartley was ordered from New York Shipbuilding and laid down on 31 October 1955, launched on 24 November 1956 and commissioned on 26 June 1957. After shakedown in the Caribbean she joined Escort Squadron 14 in Newport for convoy tactics drill from 28 January 1958. On 12 May she escorted USS Wasp CBG to the Mediterranean. She wa spresent during the Lebanese crisis in July-September, then had exercises and stops from Turkey to France, back home on 7 October. Next year she sailed with CortRon 14 for an extended South American cruis from February 1959 and back on 5 May. By June she had a new sonar installed at Monroe Shipyard, Chelsea, Massachusetts, and trained with the Fleet Sonar School training ship at Key West until November 1960. By October 1961, she started working with NASA research teams for shipboard recovery and space capsule egress procedures and returned to the Sonar School at Key West, preparing for the US-Canadian ex. BEAGLE II, exercise (cancelled because of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962). By March 1963, she had refular surveillance patrols off Cuba, and 5 months extensive ASW exercises out of Key West and Newport. In September she had her FRAM at Boston until January 1964. In February-March she trained off Guantánamo Bay and aletrnated with the Sonar School at Key West. Same routine in 1965, buu she was rammed and heavily damaged by the Norwegian freighter Blue Master 16 June while enterin Chesapeake Bay in heavy weather. She almost cut Hartley in half. Rescue and salvage operations kept her from grounding but 19 hours after the collision, she reached Norfolk under tow, for extensive repairs at Norfolk and back to Newport in October. She made another tour of Northern Europe late May 1967 and visited Copenhagen on 23 June and Holy Loch, Scotland, then on 17 July proceeded for the Mediterranean. No more records.

Hartley as Colombian Boyaca (DE-16) in 1979: She was sold on 8 July 1972 to Colombia and stricken in 1992, intended to be preserved as a museum ship at Guatape. For this, she was dismantled and trucked to a mountain location on the shores of Lake Guatape to be reassembled as a land ship but funding limitations put the project on hold since albeit her remains were removed by 2015, houses constructed on site instead. Reportedly cancelled.

USS Joseph K. Taussig DE-1030 (1957)

USS Joseph K. Taussig was laid down at New York Shipbuilding on 3 January 1956, launched on 3 January 1957 and commissioned on 10 September 1957. After a Caribbean shakedown she joined Newport on 22 December and depated on 12 May 1958 for her first Mediterranean tour with the 6th Fleet, including the Lebanon crisis and back on 7 October. She notably made a goodwill cruise to South America and had an overhaul at Boston. Her career mirrored oher ships in class, without anything remarkable. She missed the Cuban missile crisis and instead had a goodwill cruise to Africa, but saw Cuban patrol duty from August to December alongside usual coastal training operations. From January to May 1965 she had her FRAM odernization and DASH installed at Boston. She took part afterwards to Operation Steel Pike I in October. 1965 and 1966, she alternated the usual exercises along the Atlantic Coast and Caribbean. She worked as a sonar school ship at Key West and in 1966 she started six months as E-4 training ship for seamen as petty officers for more crews to the Southeast Asian threater and Vietnam. She resumed squadron training in July, from New England waters to the Caribbean and until stricken on 1 July 1972, sold for scrap 15 June 1973.