USS Eldridge (DE-173)
_underway,_circa_in_1944.jpg) USS Eldridge (DE-173) |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Shipyard | |
| Keel laying | February 22, 1943 |
| Launch | July 25, 1943 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | August 27, 1943 |
| Decommissioning | June 17, 1946 |
| Whereabouts | Sold to Greece on January 15, 1951, scrapped in 1999 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
1,240 ts |
| length |
93 m |
| width |
11.2 m |
| Draft |
2.7 m |
| crew |
168 officers and men |
| speed |
21 kn |
| Range |
10,800 nm at 12 kn |
| Armament |
3 × 76.2 mm cannons |
The USS Eldridge (DE-173) was a destroyer escort of the Cannon-class destroyer escort of the US Navy . The ship was named after Lieutenant Commander John Eldridge, Jr., a US Navy fighter pilot who died in World War II during the Solomon Islands campaign and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his achievements .
The Eldridge was laid down by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny , New Jersey on February 22, 1943. The launch took place on July 25, 1943, and she entered service on August 27, 1943 under the command of Lieutenant CR Hamilton.
Between January 4, 1944 and May 9, 1945, she was used as escort for supply transports to the Mediterranean Sea to North Africa and Southern Europe. She made nine trips to escort convoys to Casablanca , Bizerte and Oran .
She left New York on May 28, 1945 to serve in the Pacific . On her way to Saipan , she came into contact with an underwater object that was immediately attacked. But no hits could be registered. On August 7th, she arrived at Okinawa , where she was used for escorts and patrols.
On June 17, 1946, she was decommissioned and assigned to the reserve. On January 15, 1951, she was handed over to Greece , where she was in service as the Leon D-54 until 1992.
The myth of the Philadelphia Experiment contributed significantly to their popularity .
Web links
- History of Eldridge in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- Navsource Online - Destroyer Escort Photo Archive
Individual evidence
- ↑ Destroyer: Leon D-54 (1951–1992) ( Memento from September 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Hellenic Navy (accessed December 27, 2009)