US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II

by Mark Lardas, Adam Tooby (Illustrator), Irene Cano Rodríguez (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472839756
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	11/26/2020
Series:	New Vanguard , #289
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering but spent his early career at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeller, he is currently working in League City, Texas. He has written extensively about modelling as well as naval, maritime, and military history.
Mark Lardas has always been fascinated by things related to the sea and sky. From building models of ships and aircraft as a teen, he then studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but his interest in aviation led him to take a job on the then-new Space Shuttle program, where he worked for the next 30 years as a navigation engineer. Currently he develops commercial aircraft systems as a quality assurance manager. He has written numerous books on military, naval or maritime history.
Adam Tooby is an internationally renowned digital artist and illustrator. His work can be found in publications worldwide and as box art for model aircraft kits. He also runs a successful illustration studio and aviation prints business. He is based in Cheshire, UK. To buy artwork, or contact the artist, visit http://www.adamtooby.com/.
Irene Cano Rodríguez (known as Araire) is a freelance artist working and living in Spain. Since 2014, she has worked as a specialized historical illustrator, recreating historical scenes for museums, studios, editorials and magazines. Nowadays she also combines her work as an illustrator with teaching archaeological illustration.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Design and Development
Operational History
Variants
Statistics
Bibliography
Index