To better understand this information, a short
history review is helpful.
563 DEs were built between January 1942 and September 1945
The first DE keel was laid down 27 January 1942 at Boston Navy Yard for DE 8
USS Steele (Evarts Class)
DEs were named for Navy, Marine or Coast Guard heroes
During World War II:
30 DEs were manned by the US Coast Guard
78 DEs were transferred under Lend-Lease to the UK Royal Navy, 6 to
the Free French
Navy and 8 to the Brazilian Navy
94 DEs were modified to high speed transports (APDs)
and assigned to American
Fleets and Task Groups
The division of WWII DEs into six different classes was based upon powerplant configuration.
Evarts (GMT) Class
These were the first DEs to be built.
105 were ordered but 8 were canceled
13 March 1944, leaving a total of 97 constructed. Of this 97, 32 were consigned
to the Royal Navy. The remaining 65 served in the USN.
Cannon (DET) Class
Original plans called for 116 to be build. Fourty-four were
cancelled and of these some
were never laid down,
others laid down but never launched, and others launched but
never commissioned.
Of the
72 built, 58 served in the USN.
Under Lend-Lease 8 were transferred
to the Brazilian Navy and 6 to the Free French
Navy.
Edsall
(FMR) Class
85 were built of which 30 were manned by US Coast Guard crews
Buckley (TE) Class
The largest of the six classes
154 were built
108 were consigned to the US Navy. In
May 1944, 50 of the 108 were reclassified, as
they became available, for conversion to APD, but ultimately
only 43 were converted.
46 were consigned to the Royal Navy
Rudderow (TEV) Class
72 were built
50 were transferred to the APD program. The remaining 22 were
commissioned
as DEs.
John C. Butler (WGT) Class
Only 83 were completed before war's end, although many more were authorized.
However, 3 of the 83 were not commissioned until after the end of WWII.
**Notes the ship was converted to APD during construction
and never served as a DE.
Only ships converted from DE hulls are included.
Ships scheduled for conversion but not converted or converted but never
served are not noted as such.
