The ''Buckley''-class destroyer escorts were 102

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 ...

s launched in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1943–44. They served in

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 opposing ...

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escorts and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

ships. The lead ship was which was launched on 9 January 1943. The ships had

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

steam

turbo-electric transmission A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine ( steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts. T ...

. The ships were

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term ...

at various factories in the

, and the units brought together in the shipyards, where they were welded together on the

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

s. The ''Buckley'' class was the second class of destroyer escort, succeeding the s. One of the main design differences was that the hull was significantly lengthened on the ''Buckley'' class; this long-hull design proved so successful that it was used for all further destroyer escort classes. The class was also known as the TE type, from Turbo Electric drive. The TE was replaced with a diesel-electric plant to yield the design of the successor ("DET"). A total of 154 were ordered with 6 being completed as

high-speed transport High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the ...

("APD"). A further 37 were later converted after completion while 46 of the ''Buckley''s were delivered to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

under the Lend-Lease agreement. These 46 were classed as frigates and named after Royal Navy

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, forming part of the along with 32 Lend-Lease ships of the ''Evarts'' class. After World War II, most of the surviving units of this class were transferred to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and other countries. The rest were retained by the US Navy's reserve fleet until they were decommissioned.

Armament

The ''Buckley''-class' main armament was three

3-inch/50-caliber gun The 3"/50 caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...

s in Mk 22 dual purpose open mounts. They fired fixed-type ammunition (anti-aircraft, armor-piercing, or star shell) and had a range of at 45 degrees, and an anti-aircraft ceiling of For anti-aircraft defense, the ''Buckley''-class carried four 1.1 inch/75 (28mm) gun or two

Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun The Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 (often referred to simply as the "Bofors 40 mm gun", the "Bofors gun" and the like, see name) is an anti-aircraft autocannon, designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. The g ...

s fitted in the 'X' position. These were not included in the Captain-Class units. Eight

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...

s were positioned two in front of the bridge behind and above B gun mount, one on each side of the B gun mount in

sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spon ...

s, and two on each side of the ship in sponsons just abaft the funnel. Some of the ships had extra Oerlikons fitted on top of the superstructure amidships. The ''Captain''-Class units had additional 20 mm guns fitted in 'X' position, and on the director stand for 'X' position. For anti-submarine weapons, the ''Buckley''-class carried a

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

a British designed

spigot mortar A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and ...

which fired 24 bombs ahead of the ship. This was situated on the main deck just aft of 'A' mount. They also carried up to 200 depth charges. Two sets of double rails mounted on each side of the ship at the stern, each holding 24 charges and eight (two on Captain-class units)

K-gun A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...

depth charge throwers each holding 5 charges were on each side of the ship forward of the stern rails. On ''Captain''-class ships, just forward of these double sets of ready racks were fitted along each side of the ship extending to midships, each set holding 60 depth charges (these ready rails were added after the ships first arrived in the UK). They also carried three torpedo tubes in a triple mount mounted just aft of the stack.Destroyer Escorts of World War II
s

Film appearance

Most of the film ''

The Enemy Below ''The Enemy Below'' is a 1957 DeLuxe Color war film in CinemaScope about a battle between an American destroyer escort and a German U-boat during World War II. Produced and directed by Dick Powell, the movie stars Robert Mitchum and Curt J� ...

'' (1957) was filmed on , a ''Buckley''-class DE. The rest of the film is set in the submarine that it is hunting.

Ships in class

References

* *

External links

http://www.desausa.org/
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association (DESA).
USS ''Slater'', the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum

Captain-Class Frigates Association

— Photos on board the destroyer escort USS ''Slater''

— Photos of life on board the destroyer escort USS ''Bangust'' (DE-739) in World War II

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley Class Destroyer Escort Frigate classes Turbo-electric steamships

Armament

Film appearance

Ships in class

See also

References

External links