Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a 20-knot warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.
Aconit was one of the nine Flower-class corvettes lent by the Royal Navy to the Free French Naval Forces. During World War II, she escorted 116 convoys, spending 728 days at sea. She was awarded the Croix de la Libération and the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945, and was cited by the British Admiralty. Following the war she was used as whaling ship for three different companies from 1947 to 1964.
Algérien was a Cannon-class destroyer escort originally named USS Cronin (DE-107) after Cornelius Cronin, a sailor who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War. She was transferred to the Free French Naval Forces in 1944 and became part of the French Navy post-war. She was rated as a frigate in French service. She was renamed Oise in 1962 and scrapped in 1965.
The Cannon class was a class of destroyer escorts built by the United States primarily for antisubmarine warfare and convoy escort service during World War II. The lead ship, USS Cannon, was commissioned on 26 September 1943 at Wilmington, Delaware. Of the 116 ships ordered, 44 were cancelled and six were commissioned directly into the Free French Forces. Destroyer escorts were regular companions escorting vulnerable cargo ships.
Ouragan was a Bourrasque-class destroyer built for the French Navy during the 1920s. During World War II, the destroyer began the war in service with the French Navy and was undergoing repairs at Brest during the invasion of France. The British Royal Navy towed the destroyer to the United Kingdom and commandeered the vessel following the French surrender in 1940. They transferred Ouragan to the Polish Navy which kept the destroyer in service for less than a year. In 1941, the Polish Navy transferred the destroyer to the Free French Naval Forces, which in turn, transferred Ouragan back to the Royal Navy in 1943. Ouragan saw no further action and was broken up for scrap in 1949.
USS Swearer (DE-186) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in the United States Navy during World War II. She was later transferred to the French Navy as Bambara.
The Free French Naval Forces were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier.
USS Clarence L. Evans (DE-113) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attacks for Navy vessels and convoys. She was launched on 22 March 1944 by Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware, sponsored by Mrs. E. E. Evans; commissioned on 25 June 1944 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.
USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned home at war's end with eight battle stars to her credit.
USS Riddle (DE-185) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. In 1950, she was transferred to France where she served as Kabyle (F718) until being decommissioned and scrapped in 1959.
USS Bright (DE-747) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. In 1950, she was transferred to France, where she served as Touareg (F721) until 1960. She was scrapped in 1965.
USS Cates (DE-763) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
HMS Watchman was a W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the final months of World War I, in the Russian Civil War, and in World War II.
Yser, originally named Sénégalais, was a frigate in the Free French Naval Forces during World War II and the French Navy post-war. The ship was originally built as USS Corbesier (DE-106), an American Cannon-class destroyer escort named for Antoine Joseph Corbesier, for more than 40 years he was the beloved swordmaster of the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen. The name Corbesier (DE-106) was cancelled 24 September 1943 so it could be used for USS Corbesier (DE-438).
Tunisien, was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the Free French Naval Forces and the French Navy from 1944 to 1964. She was scrapped in 1964.
Marocain, was a frigate in the Free French Naval Forces during World War II and the French Navy post-war. The ship was originally built as USS Marocain (DE-109), an American Cannon-class destroyer escort.
Somali, was a frigate in the Free French Naval Forces during World War II and the French Navy post-war. The ship was originally built as USS Somali (DE-111), an American Cannon-class destroyer escort.
The French term Escorteur appeared during the Second World War to designate a warship, of a medium or light displacement, whose mission was to protect ocean convoys and naval squadrons from attacks by submarines. This role was in general handled by a destroyer escort such as the Buckley and Cannon classes built in the United States, or a Hunt-class destroyer built by the United Kingdom, or even a River class built by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The Imperial Japanese Navy used the designation kaibokan for this type of ship.
United States
Free France
France
