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32-645: USS Crouter (DE-11) was an Evarts -class destroyer escort of the United States Navy in commission from 1943 to 1945. The ship was named after Mark Hanna Crouter (1897–1942), U.S. Navy officer and Navy Cross recipient. Mark Hanna Crouter was born on 3 October 1897 in Baker , Oregon . He graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 7 June 1919. After extensive service at sea and ashore, he served as executive officer on

64-564: A speed of 25–35 knots (46–65 km/h) (dependent upon the era and navy). They must carry torpedoes and a smaller caliber of cannon to use against enemy ships, as well as antisubmarine detection equipment and weapons. A destroyer escort needed only to be able to maneuver relative to a slow convoy (which in World War II would travel at 10 to 12 knots (19 to 22 km/h)), be able to defend against aircraft, and detect, pursue, and attack submarines . These lower requirements greatly reduce

96-754: Is the Ticonderoga -class air-defense ship class, which is classified as cruiser , though it uses the same hull as the Spruance -class destroyers . During the Vietnam War , the Republic of Vietnam Navy received two Edsall -class destroyer escorts from the United States. total ships in the table: 507DEs + 56APDs 37 Buckleys listed here as Buckleys were converted to APDs after having been commissioned as destroyer escorts. All APDs listed in

128-650: The American Bureau of Shipping came up with a design which was known as the British destroyer escort (BDE). The BDE designation was retained by the first six destroyer escorts transferred to the United Kingdom (BDE 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 46); of the initial order of 50, these were the only ones the Royal Navy received, the rest being reclassified as destroyer escorts on 25 January 1943 and taken over by

160-609: The Boston Navy Yard ; it was delivered to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease provisions and became HMS  Bayntun . Evarts -class ships were driven by diesel-electric power with four diesel engines mounted in tandem with electric drives. The ships were prefabricated in sections at various factories in the United States and the units brought together in the shipyards, where they were welded together on

192-752: The Evarts subclass and 46 from the Buckley subclass. Upon reaching the UK, the ships were substantially modified by the Royal Navy, including removal of torpedo tubes, making them distinct from the US Navy destroyer escort ships. Captain -class frigates acted in the roles of convoy escorts, antisubmarine warfare vessels, coastal forces control frigates and headquarters ships for the Normandy landings . During

224-839: The Napoleonic Wars and formed part of the Captain class along with 46 ships of the Buckley class . [REDACTED]   This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain . [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . [REDACTED] Media related to Evarts class destroyer escorts at Wikimedia Commons Destroyer escort Development of

256-506: The Philippine Islands , Crouter joined the screen of the transport convoy bound for Okinawa , arriving on 1 April 1945 for the invasion landings . She remained on patrol off Okinawa, joining a hunter-killer group from 19 April 1945 to 28 April 1945. Her service in anti-aircraft work included shooting down two suicide planes . Crouter reported to Guam on 21 May 1945 for training with submarines, remaining there through

288-669: The Romanian Navy . Postwar destroyer escorts and frigates were larger than those produced during wartime, with increased anti-aircraft capability, but remained smaller and slower than postwar destroyers. As Cold War destroyer escorts became as large as wartime destroyers, the United States Navy converted some of their World War II destroyers to escort destroyers (DDE). Full-sized destroyers must be able to steam as fast or faster than fast capital ships such as fleet carriers and cruisers . This typically requires

320-945: The Solomons , aiding in the consolidation of the Solomon Islands until 31 March 1944. After overhaul on the United States West Coast , Crouter escorted a convoy from Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , to Eniwetok between 14 June 1944 and 3 July 1944. Returning to Pearl Harbor, Crouter conducted submarine training exercises, and rescued nine survivors of a crashed PBY Catalina flying boat on 15 July 1944. She departed Pearl Harbor on 3 August 1944 for continued operations with submarines from Majuro between 13 August and 24 October 1944. Arriving at Eniwetok on 26 October 1944, Crouter operated out of that port as convoy escort to Ulithi Atoll , Kossol Roads , and Saipan until 15 March 1945. At San Pedro Bay , Leyte , in

352-577: The USSR , followed different naming conventions for this type of ship, which resulted in some confusion. To remedy this problem, the 1975 ship reclassification declared ocean escorts (and by extension, destroyer escorts) as frigates (FF). This brought the USN's nomenclature more in line with NATO, and made comparing ship types with the Soviet Union easier. As of 2006, no plans existed for future frigates for

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384-535: The United States in 1942–44. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. They were also known as the GMT or "short hull" DE class, with GMT standing for General Motors Tandem Diesel drive. The lead ship was USS  Evarts , launched on 7 December 1942, exactly a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor . The first ship to be completed was commissioned on 20 January 1943 at

416-578: The United States Navy . When the United States entered the war, and found they also required an antisubmarine warfare ship and that the destroyer escort fitted their needs perfectly, a system of rationing was put in place whereby out of every five destroyer escorts completed, four would be allocated to the U.S. Navy and one to the Royal Navy. Destroyer escorts were designed and built to naval construction standards, and as such could only be built at yards experienced with naval standards. The United States Maritime Commission created its S2-S2-AQ1 design – which

448-414: The slipways . The original design specified eight engines for 24 knots but other priority programs forced the use of only four with a consequent shortening of the hull. In all, 105 Evarts -class ships were ordered with 8 later being cancelled. The United States Navy commissioned 65 while 32 Evarts -class ships were delivered to the Royal Navy. They were classed as frigates and named after captains of

480-463: The Royal Navy, constructed in the United States, launched in 1942–1943 and delivered to the United Kingdom under the provisions of the Lend-Lease agreement (under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945), they were drawn from two subclasses of the destroyer escort (originally British destroyer escort) classification: 32 from

512-499: The US Navy. USS  Zumwalt and the littoral combat ship (LCS) were the main ship types planned in this area. However, by 2017 the Navy had reversed course, and put out a Request For Proposals (RFP) for a new frigate class, temporarily designated FFG(X) . One major problem with ship classification is whether to base it on a ship's role (such as escort or air defense), or on its size (such as displacement). One example of this ambiguity

544-420: The World War II period had diesel-electric or turboelectric drive , in which the engine rooms functioned as power stations supplying current to electric motors sited close to the propellers. Electric drive was selected because it does not need gearboxes (produced on special precise machining tooling available in limited quantities, they were heavily in demand for the fast fleet destroyers) to adjust engine speed to

576-745: The amount payable under the provisions of the Lend-Lease agreement; the last such frigate was returned to United States custody in March 1956. Six Cannon -class destroyer escorts were built for the Free French Navy . Although initially transferred under the Lend-Lease Act, these ships were permanently transferred under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP). Under the MDAP the destroyer escorts leased to

608-468: The colder North Atlantic Ocean), were criticized as far too hot below decks, and, because of the mercantile style of their hulls, had far less resistance to underwater explosions than ships built to naval standards like the destroyer escorts. After World War II, new-build United States Navy destroyer escorts were referred to as ocean escorts , but retained the hull classification symbol DE. However, other navies, most notably those of NATO countries and

640-403: The course of World War II, this class participated in the sinking of at least 34 German submarines and a number of other hostile craft with 15 of the 78 Captain -class frigates being either sunk or written off as a constructive total loss . In the postwar period, all of the surviving Captain -class frigates except one (HMS Hotham ) were returned to the US Navy before the end of 1947 to reduce

672-522: The destroyer escort was promoted by the British need in World War II for anti-submarine ships that could operate in open oceans at speeds of up to 20 knots. These "British Destroyer Escort"s were designed by the US for mass-production under Lend Lease as a less expensive alternative to fleet destroyers . The Royal Navy and Commonwealth forces identified such warships as frigates , and that classification

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704-490: The end of the war and until 18 September 1945. Crouter returned to the United States at San Pedro , California , on 5 October 1945, and was decommissioned on 30 November 1945. She was sold for scrapping on 25 November 1946. Crouter was awarded one battle star for World War II service in the Pacific. Evarts-class destroyer escort The Evarts -class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in

736-644: The heavy cruiser USS  San Francisco . He was killed in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal . He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross . Crouter originally was intended for transfer to the United Kingdom as BDE-11, but was instead retained by the U.S. Navy. She was laid down on 8 February 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard at Boston , Massachusetts and launched on 26 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. M. H. Crouter, widow of Commander Crouter. She

768-557: The much lower optimal speed for the propellers. The current from the engine room can be used equally well for other purposes, and after the war, many destroyer escorts were re-used as floating power stations for coastal cities in Latin America under programs funded by the World Bank . . Edsall -class ships were the exception to this and they used a geared diesel engine to drive the propellers directly. John C. Butler s used

800-547: The ship, from which landing craft ( LCVPs ) could be launched. The Lend-Lease Act was passed into law in the United States in March 1941, enabling the United Kingdom to procure merchant ships, warships, munitions, and other materiel from the US, to help with the war effort. This enabled the UK to commission the US to design, build, and supply an escort vessel that was suitable for antisubmarine warfare in deep open-ocean situations, which they did in June 1941. Captain E.L. Cochrane of

832-567: The size, cost, and crew required for the destroyer escort. Destroyer escorts were optimized for antisubmarine warfare, having a tighter turning radius and more specialized armament (such as the forward-firing Hedgehog mortar) than fleet destroyers. Their much slower speed was not a liability in this context as sonar was useless at speeds over 20 knots (37 km/h). As an alternative to geared steam-turbine propulsion found in sloops of similar purpose, size and speed (as well as full-sized destroyers and larger warships), many US destroyer escorts of

864-424: The table were completed as conversions. Captains were converted before commissioning as DEs. Data from "Ship's Data U.S. Naval Vessels" hull numbers for WGT and FMR are still incomplete, price of $ 2,157 for Brown/WGT DE-423 is assumed to be a typo other classes missing (work in progress) From the same document, List of Naval Vessels, pp. 11: The Captain class was a designation given to 78 frigates of

896-464: The typical boiler and geared turbine propulsion system. Destroyer escorts were also useful for coastal antisubmarine and radar picket ship duty. During World War II, seven destroyer escorts (DEs) were converted to radar picket destroyer escorts (DERs), supplementing radar picket destroyers. Although these were relegated to secondary roles after the war, in the mid-1950s, 36 more DEs were converted to DERs , serving as such until 1960–1965. Their mission

928-593: Was commissioned on 25 May 1943. Departing Boston on 24 July 1943, Crouter deployed to the Pacific Ocean for World War II service. She reached Nouméa , New Caledonia , on 3 September 1943. After several convoy escort voyages to Efate and Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides and to Viti Levu in the Fiji Islands , she escorted convoys between Nouméa and Port Purvis on Florida Island in

960-693: Was based on the British-designed River class – for much the same role but using civilian construction standards. These ships would be classed by the Navy as the Tacoma class frigates (PF) . These frigates had a greater range than the superficially similar destroyer escorts, but the US Navy viewed them as decidedly inferior in all other respects. The Tacoma class had a much larger turning circle than destroyer escorts, lacked sufficient ventilation for warm-weather operations (a reflection of their original British design and its emphasis on operations in

992-502: Was to extend the Distant Early Warning Line on both coasts, in conjunction with 16 Guardian -class radar picket ships , which were converted Liberty ships . During World War II, some 95 destroyer escorts were converted by the US to high-speed transports (APDs). This involved adding an extra deck which allowed space for about 10 officers and 150 men. Two large davits were also installed, one on either side of

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1024-515: Was widely accepted when the United States redesignated destroyer escorts as frigates (FF) in 1975. From circa 1954 until 1975 new-build US Navy ships designated as destroyer escorts (DE) were called ocean escorts . Similar types of warships in other navies of the time included the 46 diesel powered Kaibōkan of the Imperial Japanese Navy , 10 Kriegsmarine F-class escort ships , and the two Amiral Murgescu -class vessels of

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