USS Evarts

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USS Evarts (DE-5) underway on 19 August 1944 (NH 107099).jpg
USS Evarts (DE-5)
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Evarts
Builder Boston Navy Yard
Laid down17 October 1942 [1]
Launched7 December 1942
Commissioned15 April 1943
Decommissioned2 October 1945
FateScrapped 12 July 1946
General characteristics
Class and type Evarts-class destroyer escort
Displacement
  • 1,140 long tons (1,160 t) (standard)
  • 1,430 long tons (1,450 t) (full load)
Length
  • 283 ft 6 in (86.41 m) w/l)
  • 289 ft 5 in (88.21 m) (o/a)
Beam35 ft 1 in (10.69 m)
Draft8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Installed power6,000  hp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion
Speed21  kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range4,150  nmi (4,780 mi; 7,690 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement198
Armament

USS Evarts (DE-5) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escorts in the United States Navy.

Contents

Namesake

Milo Burnell Evarts was born on 3 September 1913 in Ruthton, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve on 31 August 1940, and was commissioned on 12 June 1941 as ensign. On the night of 11–12 October 1942, in the Battle of Cape Esperance, Lieutenant (junior grade) Evarts was killed in action when his ship USS Boise was damaged. [2] Disregarding the danger of explosion from the fires which broke out in the gun turret of which he was in charge, Evarts stood to his station until killed. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. [3] [4] [5]

Construction and commissioning

Evarts was launched on 7 December 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, as BDE-5, intended for transfer to Britain. Instead, she was retained for use in the U.S. Navy, and commissioned on 15 April 1943.

Service history

After anti-submarine warfare training and experiments with radar in Chesapeake Bay, Evarts began steady service as a convoy escort, during much of which she flew the flag of Commander, Escort Division 5 (CortDiv 5). After five voyages to Casablanca, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 April 1944 on her first run to Bizerte. Two days before reaching that port, her convoy came under heavy attack by enemy torpedo bombers, and Evarts joined in the protective anti-aircraft barrage which shot down many of the attackers.

During the homeward bound passage of this same voyage, on 29 May, Evarts was detached from the convoy to aid the escort carrier Block Island and destroyer escort Barr, both of whom had been torpedoed by a German submarine. She arrived at the given position to find Block Island had sunk, but screened Barr, under tow, to safety at Casablanca. A second voyage to Bizerte was uneventful, as were the one to Palermo and the three to Oran which followed.

Completing her convoy escort duties on 11 June 1945, Evarts acted as target in exercises with submarines at New London, Connecticut, until arriving at New York on 11 September. There she was decommissioned on 2 October 1945, and was scrapped starting on 12 July 1946.

Awards

Combat Action Ribbon.svg Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War II Victory Medal

Evarts also received one battle star for her World War II service.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Barr</i>

USS Barr (DE-576/APD-39), originally a Buckley-class destroyer escort, and later a Charles Lawrence-class of the United States Navy named for Pvt. Woodrow Wilson Barr of Keyser, West Virginia.

USS <i>Hayter</i> (DE-212)

USS Hayter (DE-212/APD-80) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. In 1967, she was transferred to South Korea where she served as ROKS Jonnam until 1986.

USS <i>Ahrens</i>

USS Ahrens (DE-575), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Private Edward H. Ahrens (1919–1942), who was killed during the Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo on 8 August 1942. He was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross.

USS <i>Robert I. Paine</i> (DE-578)

USS Robert I. Paine (DE/DER-578), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Marine Corps Private Robert I. Paine (1923-1942), who was killed in action during the attack on Tulagi on 7 August 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

USS <i>Atherton</i> Cannon-class destroyer escort

USS Atherton (DE-169), a Cannon-class destroyer escort, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lt. (jg) John McDougal Atherton, who died when USS Meredith sank near Guadalcanal during World War II.

USS <i>Wyffels</i>

USS Wyffels (DE-6) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort in the United States Navy during World War II.

USS <i>Fiske</i> (DE-143)

USS Fiske (DE-143) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Rear Admiral Bradley Allen Fiske, she was the first of two U.S. Naval vessels to bear the name. The vessel entered service in 1943 and served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II as part of a hunter-killer anti-submarine group. On 2 August 1944, Fiske was sunk by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-804. Thirty-three of the ship's crew were killed and a further 50 were injured.

USS <i>Wileman</i> (DE-22)

USS Wileman (DE-22) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. It was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. At the end of the war, she returned to the United States proudly displaying four battle stars.

USS <i>Decker</i>

USS Decker (DE-47) was an Evarts class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into dangerous North Atlantic Ocean waters to protect convoys and other ships from German submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and antisubmarine operations in battle areas before sailing home victorious at the end of the conflict.

USS <i>Dobler</i> Evarts-class destroyer escort

USS Dobler (DE-48) was an Evarts class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into dangerous North Atlantic Ocean waters to protect convoys and other ships from German submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and antisubmarine operations in battle areas before sailing home victorious at the end of the conflict.

USS <i>Smartt</i>

USS Smartt (DE-257) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She took part in operations in the Atlantic Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from German submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and antisubmarine operations in battle areas before sailing home at the end of the conflict.

USS <i>Stanton</i> (DE-247)

USS Stanton (DE-247) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.

USS <i>Swasey</i> (DE-248)

USS Swasey (DE-248) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.

USS <i>Sellstrom</i> (DE-255)

USS Sellstrom (DE-255) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.

USS <i>Newell</i> (DE-322)

USS Newell was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. Post war, she served in various capacities before being finally decommissioned.

USS <i>Falgout</i> (DE-324)

USS Falgout (DER-324) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. Post-war, she was borrowed by the U.S. Coast Guard and also served as a radar picket ship on the Distant Early Warning Line. She was reclassified DER-324 on 28 October 1954.

USS <i>Wilhoite</i>

USS Wilhoite (DE-397) was an Edsall-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 destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.

USS <i>Jenks</i> (DE-665)

USS Jenks (DE-665) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1968.

USS <i>Thomas F. Nickel</i> (DE-587)

USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE-587) was a Rudderow-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 and from 1948 to 1958. She was sold for scrapping in 1973.

USS <i>Eugene E. Elmore</i> (DE-686) American Rudderow-class destroyer escort

USS Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) was a Rudderow-class destroyer escort in the United States Navy during World War II.

References

  1. ↑ Smolinski, Mike. "NavSource Naval History: USS Evarts (DE-5)" . Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  2. ↑ The United Press (11 November 1942). "Cruiser's Crew Tells How She Got 6 Jap Ships". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press. p. 10.
  3. ↑ "Officer from City is Killed". Minneapolis Tribune. 10 October 1942. p. 11.
  4. ↑ "Minneapolis Has Several New Heroes". Star Tribune. 9 May 1943. p. 22.
  5. ↑ "On Memorial Day Minnesota Will Pay Tribute to Its Heroic Dead". Star Tribune. Bud Matthes. 28 May 1944. p. 43.CS1 maint: others (link)

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

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