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Buckley-class destroyer escort

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USS Buckley (DE-51)
Class overview
NameBuckley class destroyer escort
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byEvarts class destroyer escort
Succeeded byCannon class destroyer escort
Planned154
Completed102
Cancelled0
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer Escort
Displacement1,740 tons (fully loaded)
Length306 feet (93.3 m)
Beam36.5 feet (11.1 m)
Draft11 feet (fully loaded)
PropulsionTwo 3-bladed propellers solid manganese-bronze, 8.5 feet (2.6 m) diameter
Speed24 knots (most ships could attain 26/27 knots)
Range5,500 nautical miles (10,190 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Capacity350 tons oil (fuel)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar: Type SL surface search fixed to mast above yard arm and type SA air search only fitted to certain ships.
  • Asdic (Sonar): Type 128D or Type 144 both in retractable dome.
  • Direction Finding: MF direction finding antenna fitted in front of the bridge and HF/DF Type FH 4 antenna fitted on top of mast.
Armament
  • Main guns: 3 × 3 inch /50 Mk 22 dual purpose open mount, and fixed fire shot (anti-aircraft, armor piercing, or starshell) and had a range of 14,600 yards (13,400 m) at 45 degrees, and an anti-aircraft ceiling of 28,000 feet (8,500 m)
  • Anti-aircraft guns: 4 × 1.1 inch or 2 × 40 mm Bofors guns were fitted in the 'X' position on the Buckley Class units; these were not included in the Captain Class units. 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon single-mount cannon positioned two in front of the bridge behind and above B gun mount, one each side of B gun mount in sponsons, and two each side of the ship in sponsons just abaft the funnel. Some of the ships had an extra one or two 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.
  • Torpedo tubes: 3 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in a triple mount were mounted just aft of the stack.
  • Hedgehog: British designed ahead throwing mortar which fired 24 bombs ahead of the ship, this was situated on the main deck just aft of A gun mount.
  • Depth charges: Up to 200 were carried. Two sets of double rails each side of the ship at the stern, each set held 24 charges; eight (two on Captain class units) K-gun depth charge throwers each holding 5 charges, were situated each side of the ship just forward of the stern rails. On Captain Class units, 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 arrived back in the UK)

The Buckley class destroyer escorts were 102 destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 - 1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. The lead ship was USS Buckley (DE-51) which was launched on 9 January 1943. The ships had General Electric steam turbo electric drive engines. The ships were prefabricated at various factories in the United States, and the units brought together in the shipyards, where they were welded together on the slipways.

The Buckley was the second class of destroyer escort, succeeding the Evarts. One of the main design differences was that the hull was significantly lengthened on the Buckley; 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.

A total of 154 were ordered with 6 being completed as High speed transport APDs. A further 37 were later converted after completion while 46 of the Buckleys were delivered to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease agreement. They were classed as frigates and named after captains of the Napoleonic Wars, and formed part of the Captain class frigates along with 32 ships of the Evarts class.

After World War II, most of the surviving units of this class were transferred to Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, Mexico and other countries. The rest were retained by the US Navy's reserve fleet until they were decommissioned.

See also

Film Appearance

Most of the film The Enemy Below (1957) was filmed on USS Whitehurst (DE-634), a Buckley-class DE. The rest of the film is set on the submarine that it is hunting.

References

  • The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts by Bruce Hampton Franklin, published by Chatham Publishing (1999), ISBN 086176118X.
  • The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War by Donald Collingwood. published by Leo Cooper (1998), ISBN 085052 615 9.

External links

Media related to Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts at Wikimedia Commons

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