Download or read book US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II written by Mark Lardas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-26 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean-­going escort built for the United States Navy – a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US. Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war. They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy). The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.

Download or read book The Buckley class Destroyer Escorts written by Bruce Hampton Franklin and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The text describes the development of the class, armament, major conversion programs, differences between the American and British ships, and the operational history of Buckleys in the U.S. and Royal Navies. Throughout the book, recollections and contemporary observations from the men who served aboard these ships are used to provide a personal touch to the history of these "Little Wolves."

Download or read book Atlantic Escorts written by David Brown and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2007-11-15 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a rapid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness.

Download or read book US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II written by Mark Lardas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-26 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean-­going escort built for the United States Navy – a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US. Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war. They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy). The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.

Download or read book The Destroyer Escort England written by Al Ross and published by Brassey's. This book was released on 1985 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Shepherds of the Sea written by Robert F Cross and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2010-05-15 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compelling tale of courage, heroism, and terror is told in the words of ninety-one sailors and officers interviewed by the author about their World War II service aboard fifty-six destroyer escorts. They reveal many never-before-told details of life at sea during wartime and, along with information found in secretly kept war diaries and previously unpublished personal photographs, add important dimensions to the official record. Unseasoned teenage recruits when they first went to sea, these sailors were led by inexperienced college boys more accustomed to yachts than warships. Their ships were untested vessels, designed by a man with no formal training in ship design, and which many viewed as a waste of money. Yet, as Cross points out, these men are credited with helping turn the tide of the war in the Atlantic as they singlehandedly sank some seventy U-boats and captured U-505, the only German submarine taken during the war and the first enemy vessel captured by Americans at sea since the War of 1812. In the Pacific, the destroyer escorts fought in every major battle, side-by-side with Allied battleships and destroyers. But this story is not just about battles. It is also about American genius, hard work, honor and growing up in the Great Depression. The author provides eyewitness details about the historic first step taken to end racial discrimination in the military as African-Americans stepped aboard the destroyer escort USS Mason as full-fledged sailors for the first time and earned a Navy commendation of heroism in the Battle of the Atlantic presented to the surviving crewmen fifty-one years later. Readers also learn about an ingenious invention when a sailor breaks his silence about a secret weapon tested aboard his destroyer escort that rendered a new German radio-controlled glide bomb useless.

Download or read book Destroyer Escorts written by Brad Critchell and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Destroyers At Normandy Naval Gunfire Support At Omaha Beach Illustrated Edition written by William B. Kirkland and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes numerous maps and illustrations. This monograph provides first-hand accounts of Destroyer Squadron 18 during this critical battle upon which so much of the success of our campaign in Europe would depend. Their experience at Omaha Beach can be looked upon as typical of most U.S. warships engaged at Normandy. On the other hand, from the author’s research it appears evident that this destroyer squadron, with their British counterparts, may have had a more pivotal influence on the breakout from the beachhead and the success of the subsequent campaign than was heretofore realized. Its contributions certainly provide a basis for discussion among veterans and research by historians, as well as a solid, professional account of naval action in support of the Normandy landings.

Download or read book U boats vs Destroyer Escorts written by Gordon Williamson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-08-20 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winston Churchill claimed the 'U-boat peril' was the only thing that frightened him during World War II. The U-boat was developed from a small coastal vessel into a state-of-the-art killer, stalking the high seas picking off merchant convoys, until the introduction of the destroyer escort, and the development of dedicated anti-submarine tactics provided a means of defence and attack against the U-boats. Gordon Williamson describes the design and development of these two deadly opponents, their tactics, strengths and weaknesses, weaponry and training. He provides an insight into the lives of the Royal Navy and Wolf Pack crews as they played their deadly games of cat and mouse on the high seas, gambling with their lives and the fate of the nations.

Download or read book Memories of My Three Years Aboard Destroyer Escorts written by John J. Sheehan and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-02-18 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John J. Sheehan, LTJG USN (ret.) John Joseph Sheehan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 27. 1935 to Margaret and Joseph Sheehan, Sr. He attended St. Timothy Parochial School in the Mayfair section of the city. He is a 1952 graduate of St. Josephs Preparatory School, (The Prep) and St. Josephs College (now University) in 1956. John enlisted in the United States Navy and graduated from the Naval Officers Candidate School in 1956. John served as Communications Officer on the USS Cross and the USS Chamber until his honorable discharge as a Lieutenant JG in 1959. Upon his retirement from the City of Philadelphia Comptrollers Office, John use the logs from the Library of Congress to research material from his real life experiences aboard ship. John lives in Philadelphia with his wife of fifty years, Ellen. He is the father of Ann Marie Matekovic, John Sheehan, Jr. and Ellyn Taylor and the grandfather of Katelyn and Laura Matekovic, Casey and Megan Sheehan and Charles, Kelley and Joseph Taylor.

Download or read book Tin Cans and Greyhounds written by Clint Johnson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-02-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For men on destroyer-class warships during World War I and World War II, battles were waged “against overwhelming odds from which survival could not be expected.” Those were the words Lieutenant Commander Robert Copeland calmly told his crew as their tiny, unarmored destroyer escort rushed toward giant, armored Japanese battleships at the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. This action-packed narrative history of destroyer-class ships brings readers inside the half-inch-thick hulls to meet the men who fired the ships' guns, torpedoes, hedgehogs, and depth charges. Nicknamed "tin cans" or "greyhounds," destroyers were fast escort and attack ships that proved indispensable to America's military victories. Beginning with destroyers' first incarnation as torpedo boats in 1874 and ending with World War II, author Clint Johnson shares the riveting stories of the Destroyer Men who fought from inside a "tin can"—risking death by cannons, bombs, torpedoes, fire, and drowning. The British invented destroyers, the Japanese improved them, and the Germans failed miserably with them. It was the Americans who perfected destroyers as the best fighting ship in two world wars. Tin Cans & Greyhounds compares the designs of these countries with focus on the old, modified World War I destroyers, and the new and numerous World War II destroyers of the United States. Tin Cans & Greyhounds details how destroyers fought submarines, escorted convoys, rescued sailors and airmen, downed aircraft, shelled beaches, and attacked armored battleships and cruisers with nothing more than a half-inch of steel separating their crews from the dark waves.

Download or read book American Destroyer Escorts of World War 2 written by Peter Elliott and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes notes on American-built destroyer escorts in service with other navies.

Download or read book Bloodstained Sea written by Michael G. Walling and published by Cutter Publishing. This book was released on 2009-04-10 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through eyewitness accounts based on hundreds of interviews with crew members; personal diaries, notes, and letters; and each cutter's logbooks and patrol reports Walling plunges you into the thick of the battle, re-creating some of the most desperate encounters, heroic rescues, and harrowing missions of the Second World War. Told largely in the voices of the men who lived it, this unforgettable tale is peppered with humorous and ironic anecdotes about life aboard ship during wartime. You'll meet the liberty-craving crew members who painted their entire ship in less than an hour; the ship's mascot who became canine-non-grata in Greenland; and the crew whose vessel was mistaken for the German battleship Bismarck and attacked by the Royal Navy. Complete with dramatic photographs of the Coast Guard in action, Bloodstained Sea brings this epic drama to vibrant and pulsing life.

Download or read book U S S Holt DE 706 Destroyer Escort written by Jeffrey E. Cope and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2008 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the true story of the men aboard the destroyer escort U.S.S. HOLT (DE-706) during World War II. The HOLT story begins with the ship's construction in 1943, launching in 1944, continues through its missions in the Pacific, and concludes with its decommissioning after the war in 1946. Major missions included Leyte Gulf Landings, a slow-tow convoy to Mindoro, the Lingayen Gulf Campaign, and the Legaspi Operation. The HOLT was one of twenty-two Rudderow class destroyer escorts built during WWII. The HOLT and five other destroyer escorts became part of Escort Division 74 and participated in various task groups and units in the Philippine area. Enjoy learning about the ship's missions and the crew with their many stories as they served their country with valor.

Download or read book Imperial Japanese Navy Antisubmarine Escorts 1941 45 written by Mark Stille and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) went to war with a marginal anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability. This was a lamentable state of affairs for a nation dependent upon imports to sustain its war economy. There were only a few purpose-built ASW escorts available at the start of the war and these were augmented by a handful of second-class destroyers and a dozen torpedo boats. Once the magnitude of the threat to Japan's shipping became fully apparent in 1943, the IJN made plans for mass production of ASW escorts. These arrived in 1944, but could not stop the massacre of Japanese shipping by increasingly bold and effective American submarines. This volume will detail the history, weapons and tactics of the IJN's ASW escorts. These include the Momi class of second-rate destroyers, the Tomodzuru and Ootori classes of torpedo boars, and the several types of ASW escorts built from 1937 up to the end of the war.

Download or read book Destroyer Escort Sailors Association written by Gardner N. Hatch and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1993-06-01 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Destroyer Escort Sailors Assn - Vol III: Trim but Deadly

Download or read book When Tides Turn Waves of Freedom Book 3 written by Sarah Sundin and published by Revell. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When fun-loving glamour girl Quintessa Beaumont learns the Navy has established the WAVES program for women, she enlists, determined to throw off her frivolous ways and contribute to the war effort. No-nonsense and hoping to make admiral, Lt. Dan Avery has been using his skills to fight German U-boats. The last thing he wants to see on his radar is a girl like Tess. For her part, Tess works hard to prove her worth in the Anti-Submarine Warfare Unit in Boston--both to her commanding officers and to the man with whom she is smitten. When Dan is assigned to a new escort carrier at the peak of the Battle of the Atlantic, he's torn between his lifelong career goals and his desire to help Tess root out a possible spy on shore. The Germans put up quite a fight, but he wages a deeper battle within his heart. Could Tess be the one for him? With precision and pizazz, fan favorite Sarah Sundin carries readers through the rough waters of love in a time when every action might have unforeseen world-changing consequences.