USS ''Evarts'' (DE-5) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of

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 in the

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 ...

Namesake

Milo Burnell Evarts was born on 3 September 1913 in Ruthton, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve on 31 August 1940, and was commissioned on 12 June 1941 as

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. On the night of 11–12 October 1942, in the

Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Na ...

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Evarts was killed in action when his ship was damaged. Disregarding the danger of explosion from the fires which broke out in the gun turret of which he was in charge, Evarts stood to his station until killed. He was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

Construction and commissioning

''Evarts'' was launched on 7 December 1942 at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, as BDE-5, intended for transfer to

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. Instead, she was retained for use in the U.S. Navy, and commissioned on 15 April 1943.

Service history

After

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 ...

training and experiments with

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, ''Evarts'' began steady service as a convoy escort, during much of which she flew the flag of Commander, Escort Division 5 (CortDiv 5). After five voyages to Casablanca, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 April 1944 on her first run to Bizerte. Two days before reaching that port, her convoy came under heavy attack by enemy

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

s, and ''Evarts'' joined in the protective anti-aircraft barrage which shot down many of the attackers. During the homeward bound passage of this same voyage, on 29 May, ''Evarts'' was detached from the convoy to aid the escort carrier and destroyer escort , both of whom had been

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

ed by a

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submarine. She arrived at the given position to find ''Block Island'' had sunk, but screened ''Barr'', under tow, to safety at Casablanca. A second voyage to Bizerte was uneventful, as were the one to Palermo and the three to Oran which followed. Completing her convoy escort duties on 11 June 1945, ''Evarts'' acted as target in exercises with submarines at

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, until arriving at New York on 11 September. There she was decommissioned on 2 October 1945, and was scrapped starting on 12 July 1946.

Awards

''Evarts'' also received one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her

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 ...

service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evarts (DE-5) Evarts-class destroyer escorts World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships built in Boston 1942 ships