num_pages: 210
description: Destroyer escorts were built in greater numbers than any other kind of Allied fighting ship during World War II, and more than one hundred thousand American and British sailors served aboard these ships; yet until now, little has been written about their crucial role in the U.S. and Royal Navies. This book combines unique photographs, firsthand accounts, ship plans, and well-researched text to recapture the history of the largest class of destroyer escorts ever built--the Buckleys. The American-designed destroyer escort was originally intended for transfer to Great Britain. But following America's entry into the war, the U.S. Navy also adopted the type, and it became the dominant antisubmarine vessel in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters. First deployed in mid-1943 to help protect Allied supply ships, tankers, and transports from German and Japanese attacks, destroyer escorts sank by war's end more enemy submarines than any other kind of escort vessel. The Buckley class was the second largest class of major combatants in the U.S. Navy and provided the greatest number of warships to Great Britain through lend-lease. A portion of the Buckley class was converted to high-speed transports and landed underwater demolition teams ahead of the amphibious assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Many Buckley-class ships had careers extending beyond 1945, with several fighting in the Korean War and others operating as training vessels for naval reservists into the 1960s. The book presents the first complete photographic record ever assembled of all 154 Buckley-class ships, including the only known photographs of several of these ships, recently located by the author in private collections in the United States and Great Britain. Selections of the original line-plan drawings of the class are also reproduced, providing valuable details of the ship's arrangements as designed. 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."
language: English
title: The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts
titlecomplete: The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts
genres: Naval History
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Naval Inst Pr