During
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 ...
, the navies of both the
Allies and the
Axis Powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
built and operated hundreds of relatively small warships for the purpose of ensuring the safety of merchant convoys. These warships displaced around 1,000 tons and were typically armed with one-to-three guns of three-to-five inches in caliber, numerous smaller anti-aircraft guns and depth charge throwers.
Summary
Allied escort vessel classes
United States (destroyer escorts and frigates and patrol craft)
*
''Evarts''-class destroyer escort - 97 built
*
''Buckley''-class destroyer escort - 148 built
*
''Cannon''-class destroyer escort - 72 built
*
''Edsall''-class destroyer escort - 85 built
*
''Rudderow''-class destroyer escort - 22 built
*
''John C. Butler''-class destroyer escort - 83 completed
*
''Tacoma''-class frigate - 96 built
*
''PC-461'' class submarine chaser - 343 built
*
''PCE-842 class patrol craft escort'' - 68 built
United Kingdom (frigates and corvettes)
* – 12 (original) + 25 (modified)
* – 151 built
* – 26 built (4 more completed after the end of the war)
* – 7 built (23 more completed after the end of the war)
* – 294 built
* – 49 built
Axis escort vessel classes
Japan (Kaibōkan)
* – 4 built
* – 14 built
* – 8 built
* – 9 built
* – 29 built
*
Type C escort ship
The were a class of escort ships in the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The Japanese called them "Type C" ocean defense ships, and they were the fifth class of ''Kaibōkan'' (''Kai'' = sea, ocean, ''Bo'' = defense, ''K ...
– 56 built
*
Type D escort ship
The were a class of escort ships in the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The Japanese called them "Type D" coast defence ships, and they were the sixth class of ''Kaibōkan'' (''Kai'' = sea, ocean, ''Bo'' = defence, ''K ...
– 67 built
Italy
*
''Gabbiano''-class corvette - 49 built
Germany (Flottenbegleiter)
*
F-class escort ship - 10 built
Romania
*''
Amiral Murgescu''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escort vessel classes of World War II
Military equipment of World War II
World War II naval ships
Lists of World War II ships