USS Dealey (DE-1006) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 May 1954

Ocean escort was a type of

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

. They were an evolution of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

types. The ocean escorts were intended as convoy escorts and were designed for mobilization production in wartime or low-cost mass production in peacetime. They were commissioned from 1954 through 1974, serving in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Designation

The ocean escorts'

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

was DE, a carryover from the World War II era when vessels of similar size and role were classified as destroyer escorts. DEs were ASW vessels; DEGs were ASW and AAW vessels with the short-range Tartar guided missile added. Ships similar or identical to the World War II destroyer escorts and the Cold War ocean escorts were called "frigates" in most other navies. Outside the US Navy, no other navy appears to have used the ship type of "ocean escort". The closest equivalents in type name are the Soviet and classes, built circa 1954–65. These classes' Russian designation of ''storozhevoi korabi'' translates to "escort ship", "sentry ship", or "guard ship". These were smaller than any of the US ocean escorts, at 1,416 tons (''Riga'') and 1,150 tons (''Petya'') full load, compared with at 1,877 tons full load. Many USN ocean escorts were transferred to foreign navies following USN service; they received

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

s beginning with "D", "DE", "F", or (in the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

) "E". The "E" designator was also used for ex-USN s in that navy.Gardiner & Chumbley, p. 263

Ocean escort classes

* (13) * (4) * (2) * (11) * (6) (DEG) * (46) * (82) total

1975 reclassification

The ocean escort type corresponded to other nations'

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s (convoy escorts). Until 1975, the US Navy used the term "frigate" for

destroyer leader Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955Blac ...

s (DL, DLG, DLGN). The 1975 ship reclassification changed the ocean escorts (DE/DEG) to frigates (FF/FFG) to be in line with other nations' classifications. The DLG-type "frigates" became either destroyers or cruisers, depending on tonnage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Escort Ship types

Designation

Ocean escort classes

1975 reclassification

See also

References