View source for USS Buckley

{{Short description|Buckley-class destroyer escort}}
{{for|similarly named ships|USS Dennis J. Buckley}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Buckley (DE-51) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 10 June 1944 (80-G-236608).jpg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=''Buckley''
|Ship namesake= John Daniel Buckley
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard]]
|Ship laid down=29 June 1942
|Ship launched=9 January 1943
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=30 April 1943
|Ship decommissioned=3 July 1946
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 June 1968
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=*DER-51, 26 April 1949
*DE-51, 29 September 1954
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=[[Navy Unit Commendation]] & 3 [[battle star]]s (World War II)
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, July 1969
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Buckley|destroyer escort}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1400|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|1673|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length= {{convert|306|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|37|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=*Turbo-electric drive, {{convert|12000|shp|MW|abbr=on}}
*2 shafts
|Ship speed= {{convert|24|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=186
|Ship armament=*3 × [[3"/50 caliber gun]]s
*1 × quad [[1.1"/75 caliber gun]]
*8 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm guns]]
*1 × triple [[American 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]
*1 × [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] [[anti-submarine mortar]]
*8 × [[Depth charge#Delivery mechanisms|K-gun]] depth charge projectors
*2 × depth charge tracks
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
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'''USS ''Buckley'' (DE-51)''' was the [[lead ship]] of [[Buckley-class destroyer escort|her class]] of [[destroyer escort]]s in the service with the [[United States Navy]] from 1943 to 1946. After spending 23 years in reserve, she was scrapped in 1969.

==History==
USS ''Buckley'' was named in honor of [[Aviation Ordnanceman]] John D. Buckley (1920&ndash;1941), who was killed in action during the [[Japan]]ese [[attack on Pearl Harbor|attack on the Hawaiian Islands]] on 7 December 1941.

''Buckley'' was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 9 January 1943, by [[Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard]], Inc., [[Hingham, Massachusetts]], sponsored by Mrs. James Buckley, mother of Aviation Ordnanceman Buckley; and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 30 April 1943.

===Battle of the Atlantic===
Between July 1943 and 22 April 1944, ''Buckley'' operated along the eastern seaboard as training ship for prospective officers and nucleus crews of other destroyer escorts.

On 22 April 1944, she joined hunter-killer Task Group 21.11 (TG 21.11) for a sweep of the [[North Atlantic]] and [[Mediterranean]] [[convoy]] routes. The ship was west of [[Africa]] near the [[Cape Verde]] Islands in May.<ref name="DE51">{{cite web |last1=McLachlan |first1=Ryan |title=USS Buckley (DE-51): The Destroyer Escort That Took Out a German U-boat With Hand-to-Hand Combat and Grenades |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/uss-buckley-de-51-the-destroyer-escort-that-took-out-a-german-u-boat-with-hand-to-hand-combat-and-grenades/ss-AA1jZTZY?ocid=msedgntp&pc=SCOOBE&cvid=55dc536a18a041fb9bab5ce848e6360c&ei=92#image=2 |website=War History Online |publisher=War History Online |access-date=16 November 2023}}</ref>  In the early morning of 6 May, aircraft from the [[escort aircraft carrier|escort carrier]] {{USS|Block Island|CVE-21|3}} reported an enemy [[submarine]] approximately 20 miles from ''Buckley''. The ship steamed toward the U-boat at full speed. Meanwhile, U-66 had exhausted supplies and surfaced to recharge batteries and waited for a supply ship. At 0308, believing the approaching ship was German, U-66 launched three flares. The distance between the two vessels was 4,000 yards when the U-boat realized the actual identity of the ship approaching them.<ref name=DE51 />

U-66 fired a [[torpedo]], which ''Buckley'' dodged. The sub fired machine guns at the destroyer escort which returned fire with three-inch guns hitting the submarine's [[forecastle]]. ''Buckley'' then unleashed all its weapons on their target, repeatedly striking the [[conning tower]] as the sub backed away and fired another torpedo, which the ''Buckley'' avoided.<ref name=DE51 />  
At 0328 ''Buckley'' rammed the [[Germany|German]] submarine {{ship|German submarine|U-66|1940|2}} and the two vessels were briefly locked together.  Some members of the German crew exited their burning boat, and hand-to-hand combat ensued using small arms and whatever weapons were at hand (such as coffee mugs and shell casings). The ''Buckley'' backed off, but the submarine pursued, striking the ''Buckley'' on the starboard side at the engine room. The collision also broke the ship's starboard propeller shaft.<ref name=DE51 /> The ''U-66'' disengaged and slowly backed away, but not before [[grenade|hand grenades]] were thrown into the gaping hole in the flaming conning tower.<ref name=DE51 /> The submarine sank at 0341 in {{coord|17|17|N|32|24|W|scale:10000000|name=German submarine U-66}}. 

''Buckley'' picked up 36 German survivors, transferred them to the ''Block Island'' and then retired to [[New York City|New York]] where she underwent repairs until 14 June 1944.  For this most interesting action, regarded by several high naval officers as being the most "exciting" anti-submarine kill in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]], ''Buckley'' personnel were authorized to wear a combat star in the European-African Theater ribbon. The then commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. Brent M. Abel, USNR, of [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], was awarded the Navy Cross for his part in its execution.

After completing refresher training at [[Casco Bay]], [[Maine]], in July 1944, ''Buckley'' escorted two convoys to [[North Africa]] (14 July – 7 November 1944).  She then operated on anti-submarine and convoy escort duty along the eastern seaboard and in the North Atlantic until June 1945.  During this period ''Buckley'' and {{USS|Reuben James|DE-153|3}} sank the {{ship|German submarine|U-548||2|up=yes}} on 19 April 1945 in {{coord|42|19|N|61|45|W|scale:10000000|name=German submarine U-548}}. ''Buckley'' escorted one more convoy to Algeria during June–July 1945, before returning to the United States.

===Conversion and fate===
[[File:USS Buckley (DE-51), following her conversion to a radar picket ship, circa in late 1945 (NH 107405).jpg|thumb|left|''Buckley'' after her conversion, in late 1945.]]
Upon her return to the east coast, she commenced conversion to a [[Radar picket|radar picket ship]].  In October 1945, she participated in the [[Navy Day]] ceremonies at [[Jacksonville, Florida]], and then on 31 October reported to the [[United States Navy reserve fleets|16th Fleet]] at [[St. Johns River]], [[Florida]].  ''Buckley'' was placed out of commission in reserve on 3 July 1946.  On 26 April 1949 her [[hull classification symbol|classification]] was changed to '''DER-51''' ([[radar picket]] destroyer escort), and on 29 September 1954, she was reclassified back to '''DE-51'''.

''Buckley'' was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 June 1968; she was sold for scrapping July 1969.

==In popular culture==
Some scenes in the 1957 movie ''[[The Enemy Below]]'' (starring [[Robert Mitchum]] and [[Curt Jurgens]]) seem to be inspired by ''Buckley'''s battle with ''U-66'', particularly near the end of the movie where the U.S. Navy destroyer escort grounds on the deck of the submarine. The ship used in the film was the [[USS Whitehurst (DE-634)|USS ''Whitehurst'' (DE-634)]].

The battle with ''U-66'' is detailed in an episode of the [[YouTube]] channel ''The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered''.

==Awards==
*[[Navy Unit Commendation]] (for sinking ''U-66'')
*[[American Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]]
*[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with two battle stars
*[[World War II Victory Medal]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

*{{DANFS|http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de51.htm}}
A 1/249 scale plastic model kit of the USS ''Buckley'' is available by [[Revell]] Models.

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Buckley (DE-51)}}
* [http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/DE51/History.html Historical Record of the USS Buckley]
* {{navsource|06/051|USS Buckley}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIBF4HwtANA&t=0s Youtube video]:  ''USS Buckley vs U-66 during the Battle of the Atlantic''
*[https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-atlantic/battle-of-the-atlantic/engagements-german-uboats/1944-attacks-german/1944-may-6-u-66.html 1944: May 6: Sinking of U-66] - National Museum of Naval History

{{Buckley class destroyer escort}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley (DE-51)}}
[[Category:Buckley-class destroyer escorts|Buckley]]
[[Category:Ships built in Hingham, Massachusetts|Buckley]]
[[Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]