Dealey-class destroyer escort

Last updated

USS Dealey (DE-1006) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 May 1954.jpg
USS Dealey (DE-1006)
Class overview
Operators
Preceded by John C. Butlerclass
Succeeded by Claud Jonesclass
Subclasses
Built1952–1957
In commission1954–1994
Completed13
Preserved1
General characteristics
Type Destroyer escort
Displacement1,314 long tons (1,335  t) light, 1,877 long tons (1,907 t) full load
Length314 ft 6 in (95.86 m)
Beam36 ft 9 in (11.20 m)
Draft18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Foster-Wheeler boilers
  • 1 × De Laval geared turbine
  • 20,000 shp (15 MW)
  • 1 shaft
Speed25 knots (29 mph; 46 km/h)
Complement170
Sensors and
processing systems		 Mark 63 fire-control system
Armament

The Dealey-class destroyer escorts were the first post-World War II escort ships built for the United States Navy.

Contents

Slightly faster and larger than the escort destroyers they succeeded, the Dealey class were fitted with twin-mounted 3-inch (76 mm) guns, anti-submarine (ASW) rockets, a depth charge rack and six depth charge launchers. There were later modernizations that removed the ASW rockets and the depth charges in favor of nuclear-capable anti-submarine rocket launchers and torpedo mounts which fired lighter homing torpedoes. A large SQS 23 sonar was refitted in a bow sonar dome and most of the class were also fitted with a hangar and landing pad for DASH drone helicopters to deliver MK 44 and Mk 46 torpedoes. The drone helicopters proved very unreliable and their failure contributed to the relatively short life of the class.

They were decommissioned in 1972 and 1973 in favor of the Knox-class frigate. Dealey and Hartley were sold at surplus to other countries in 1972, with the remainder of the class being sold for scrap.

Development and design

In the late 1940s, the US Navy developed a requirement for a replacement for the PC-461-class submarine chaser in the coastal convoy escort and patrol roles. The existing submarine chasers were considered too small to carry the required anti-submarine weapons and sensors, and too slow to catch modern submarines, with a ship the size of existing destroyer escorts required. The ships would need to be cheap and quick to build, as large numbers would be required in the event of a war. [1] By 1950, the requirement had changed to an "Ocean Escort" with a speed of at least 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) at full load and an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). An ahead-throwing anti-submarine weapon, at first planned to be the Mark 17, a large, trainable Hedgehog anti-submarine spigot mortar, would be fitted. [2]

The final design, SCB 72, or the Dealey or DE-1006 class, [3] was 315 feet (96.0 m) long overall and 308 feet (93.9 m) at the waterline, with a beam of 36 feet 8 inches (11.18 m) and a draft of 11 feet 10 inches (3.61 m). Displacement was 1,314 long tons (1,335  t ) light and 1,877 long tons (1,907 t) full load. [4] 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers fed steam to a geared steam turbine, which drove a single propeller shaft. The machinery was rated at 20,000 shaft horsepower (15,000 kW) which gave a design speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). [4] [lower-alpha 1] A single-shaft machinery layout was chosen to ease mass production, avoiding potential bottlenecks in gear-cutting which had delayed production of wartime destroyer escorts. [3] [4]

As built, the ships had a gun armament of two twin 3-inch (76 mm)/50 calibre guns, mounted fore and aft. These were open, manually trained dual-purpose mounts which could be used against both surface and anti-aircraft targets. The Mark 17 Hedgehog was cancelled before the ships were built, so in its place two British Squid anti-submarine mortars were fitted ahead of the ship's bridge in Dealey, with a RUR-4 Weapon Alpha anti-submarine rocket launcher fitted in the remaining ships of the class. Launchers for anti-submarine torpedoes were fitted, and depth charge throwers were fitted on the ships' fantail. [3] [4] Sensors included the SPS-6 air-search radar and the SQS-4 low-frequency sonar. [5]

The prototype ship, Dealey, was built under the Fiscal year (FY) 1952 shipbuilding program, with two ordered in both the FY 1953 and 1954 programs and eight in the 1955 program. Production was stopped at 13 because the Dealey class was considered too expensive at $12 million for mass production. This resulted in the smaller, diesel-powered Claud Jonesclass being built. The Dealey design formed the basis for the Norwegian Oslo-class and Portuguese Admiral Pereira da Silva-class frigates. [6] [7]

Modifications

All of the class except Dealey, Cromwell and Courtney were upgraded in the 1960s by adding facilities for the DASH drone helicopter, with a hangar and helicopter deck replacing the aft 3-inch gun mount and the longer-ranged SQS-23 sonar replaced the SQS-4. The three unmodified ships were fitted with a Variable Depth Sonar (VDS). All ships had their Squid or Weapon Alpha launchers removed late in their US Navy career, while Mark 32 torpedo tubes for Mark 44 or Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedoes were fitted. [4] [8]

Ships

NameNumberBuilderLaid down [9] Launched [9] Commissioned [9] Fate
Dealey DE-1006 Bath Iron Works 15 December 19528 November 19533 June 1954Transferred to Uruguay as ROU 18 De Julio (DE-3)
Cromwell DE-1014Bath Iron Works3 August 19534 June 195424 November 1954Stricken 5 July 1972
Hammerberg DE-1015Bath Iron Works12 November 195320 August 19542 March 1955Stricken 14 December 1973
Courtney DE-1021 Defoe Shipbuilding 2 September 19542 November 195524 September 1956Stricken 1973
Lester DE-1022Defoe Shipbuilding2 September 19545 January 195614 June 1957Stricken 1973
Evans DE-1023 Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging 8 April 195514 September 195514 June 1957Stricken 1973
Bridget DE-1024Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging19 September 195525 April 195624 October 1957Stricken 1973
Bauer DE-1025 Bethlehem Steel, Alameda Shipyard 1 December 19554 June 195721 November 1957Stricken 1973
Hooper DE-1026Bethlehem Steel, Alameda Shipyard4 January 19561 August 195718 March 1958Stricken 1973
John Willis DE-1027 New York Shipbuilding 5 July 19554 February 195621 February 1957Stricken 1972
Van Voorhis DE-1028New York Shipbuilding29 August 195528 July 195622 April 1957Stricken 1972
Hartley DE-1029New York Shipbuilding31 October 195524 November 195626 June 1957Sold to Colombia as ARC Boyaca (DE-16) 1972, Preserved in Colombia
Joseph K. Taussig DE-1030New York Shipbuilding3 January 19563 January 195710 September 1957Stricken 1972

Notes

  1. ↑ Dealey reached a speed of 27.58 knots (51.08 km/h; 31.74 mph) during sea trials. [3]

Citations

  1. ↑ Friedman 1982 , pp. 270, 272–273
  2. ↑ Friedman 1982 , pp. 273–274
  3. 1 2 3 4 Friedman 1982 , p. 274
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Gardiner & Chumbley 1995 , p. 595
  5. ↑ Gardiner & Chumbley 1995 , pp. 558–559, 595
  6. ↑ Friedman 1982 , p. 275
  7. ↑ Gardiner & Chumbley 1995 , pp. 318, 595–596
  8. ↑ Friedman 1982 , p. 290
  9. 1 2 3 Blackman 1971 , p. 486

Related Research Articles

<i>Knox</i>-class frigate Class of Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates

The 46 Knox-class frigates were the largest, last, and most numerous of the US Navy's second-generation anti-submarine warfare (ASW) escorts. Originally laid down as ocean escorts, they were all redesignated as frigates on 30 June 1975, in the 1975 ship reclassification plan and their hull designation changed from 'DE' to 'FF'. The Knox class was the Navy's last destroyer-type design with a steam turbine powerplant.

<i>Gearing</i>-class destroyer Class of American destroyers

The Gearing class was a series of 98 destroyers built for the U.S. Navy during and shortly after World War II. The Gearing design was a minor modification of the Allen M. Sumner class, whereby the hull was lengthened by 14 ft (4.3 m) at amidships, which resulted in more fuel storage space and increased the operating range.

HMCS <i>Yukon</i> (DDE 263) Mackenzie-class destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Yukon was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the first Canadian naval unit to carry the name. She was named for the Yukon River that runs from British Columbia through Yukon and into Alaska in the United States.

C-class destroyer (1943) 1943 class of destroyers of the Royal Navy

The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the Weapon-class destroyers after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications.

<i>Claud Jones</i>-class destroyer escort Class of American destroyer escorts

The Claud Jones-class destroyer escorts were four destroyer escorts built for the United States Navy in the late 1950s. These ships were a diesel-powered version of the earlier Dealey class and were designed with the aim of producing a cheaper ship suitable for rapid production in wartime. These ships also had reduced armament and speed compared to their predecessors. They were not seen as effective anti-submarine warfare vessels by the United States Navy and were sold after only 15 years service to the Indonesian Navy.

HMCS <i>Mackenzie</i> Mackenzie-class destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Mackenzie was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the lead ship of her class and is the first Canadian naval unit to carry this name. The ship was named for the Mackenzie River, the largest river system in Canada and runs primarily through the Northwest Territories.

USS <i>Stein</i>

USS Stein (DE-1065) was a Knox-class destroyer escort, later redesignated as a frigate (FF-1065) of the United States Navy. She was named after Tony Stein, the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for action in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

USS <i>Gray</i>

USS Gray (FF-1054) was a United States Navy Knox-class frigate. She was named for Marine Corps Sergeant Ross F. Gray, who was a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor.

USS <i>Rathburne</i> (FF-1057)

USS Rathburne (FF-1057) was a Knox-class frigate of the US Navy. Despite the different spelling, she was named for Continental Navy officer John Rathbun (1746-1782).

HMS <i>Lowestoft</i> (F103) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Lowestoft was a Rothesay-class or Type 12 class anti-submarine frigate of the British Royal Navy. Lowestoft was reconstructed in the late 1960s to largely the same pattern as the third group of Leander-class frigates, with new radar and fire control and a hangar and pad for a Westland Wasp helicopter for longer range, anti-submarine, engagement. In the late 1970s it was converted as the prototype towed array frigate for the Royal Navy, but retained its full armament. Lowestoft was sunk as a target on 8 June 1986 by HMS Conqueror using a Tigerfish torpedo. She was the last Royal Naval target to be sunk still displaying her pennant number.

HMS <i>Whitby</i> (F36) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Whitby was a Whitby-class or Type 12 anti-submarine frigate of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom built by Cammell Laird and Co Ltd, Birkenhead. She was launched on 2 July 1954 and commissioned on 10 July 1956.

HMS <i>Undaunted</i> (R53) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Undaunted was a U-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. She was later converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F53.

HMS <i>Termagant</i> (R89) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Termagant was a T-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was built by William Denny and Brothers, of Dumbarton and launched on 22 March 1943. She was scrapped in 1965.

HMCS <i>QuAppelle</i> (DDE 264) Destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Qu'Appelle was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. The ship's insignia and logo was the head of a fox facing forward centered in a diagonal line double white with a red center sqiggley line from the top left to bottom right. The moniker of the ship was "Follow the Fox".

<i>Mackenzie</i>-class destroyer

The Mackenzie-class destroyer was a class of warship used by the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from the 1960s–1990s. Six such ships were envisioned, of which four were completed to this specification. The last two hulls were completed to the post DDH conversion St. Laurent-class design ; they were designated as the Annapolis class instead. The four Mackenzie-class destroyers spent most of their service in the Pacific Ocean, used primarily in a training role. Their only significant update was the DELEX program, which was completed between 1982 and 1985 and updated their navigational radar and their sonar.

HMCS <i>Saskatchewan</i> (DDE 262) Mackenzie-class destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Saskatchewan was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to bear the name HMCS Saskatchewan. The ship was named for the Saskatchewan River which runs from Saskatchewan to Manitoba in Canada.

<i>Annapolis</i>-class destroyer

The Annapolis-class destroyer escort was a two-ship class of destroyer escorts that saw service with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from the 1960s to the 1990s. The final version of the St. Laurent-class design, the class was used extensively for anti-submarine warfare purposes. Both ships were sunk as artificial reefs after being retired, one on each coast of Canada.

USS <i>Charles Berry</i>

USS Charles Berry (DE-1035) was a Claud Jones-class destroyer escort named for Medal of Honor recipient Charles J. Berry. She was commissioned in 1959. The ship was sold to Indonesia in 1974 and renamed KRI Martadinata in honor of Vice Admiral Raden Eddy Martadinata, a former Indonesian naval commander.

HNoMS <i>Oslo</i> (F300)

HNoMS Oslo was an Oslo-class frigate of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The frigate was launched on 17 January 1964, and commissioned on 29 January 1968. Oslo ran aground near Marstein Island on 24 January 1994. One officer was killed in the incident. The next day, on 25 January, she was taken under tow. However as the situation deteriorated, the tow was let go and the frigate sank.

<i>Admiral Pereira da Silva</i>-class frigate

The Admiral Pereira da Silva class of frigates, also known as Admiral-class frigates, were in the service of the Portuguese Navy between 1966 and 1985. The class was based on the Dealey-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy. The three ships of the class were built in Portugal, at the Lisnave shipyards and the shipyards of Viana do Castelo. The construction of the ships was part of the effort of Portugal to expand its fleet in the face of unrest in the empire and was financed by the United States via the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. Financial problems prevented them from ever being modernised and they were deleted in 1989.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.