Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
United States Navy — Destroyer escort

USS William C. Cole

Buckley-class destroyer escort

USS William C. Cole
Official U.S. Navy photograph taken by an aircraft from Naval Air Station Alameda, California (USA) — U.S. Navy photo [1] from Navsource.org — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS William C. Cole (DE-641) in San Francisco Bay (USA) on 23 May 1944.

Service

  1. United States Navy as USS William C. Cole12 May 1944 — 13 March 1948478 days of the war
Buckley-class destroyer escort Particulars
Name
USS William C. Cole
Namesake
William Carey Cole
Builder
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco
Laid down
5 September 1943
Launched
29 December 1943
Commissioned
12 May 1944
Decommissioned
13 March 1948
Struck
1 March 1972
Fate
Sold for scrap, 20 November 1972 (1972)
Status
Scrapped

Specifications

Displacement, standard
1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Displacement, full load
1,740 long tons (1,768 t)
Length
93.27 m (306 ft)
Beam
10.97 m (36 ft)
Draught
3.96 m (13 ft)
Speed
24 knots (44.4 km/h, 27.6 mph)
Range
4,940 nmi (9,149 km)
Complement
213
Main gun
76 mm (3 in)

USS William C. Cole was a Buckley-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy. She was named for William Carey Cole. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco laid her keel on 5 September 1943. Launched on 29 December 1943, she entered service on 12 May 1944.

She was one of 98 ships of her class. The class followed the Evarts-class destroyer escort and was succeeded by the Cannon-class destroyer escort.

Displacement was 1,400 long tons standard and 1,740 long tons at full load. She measured 93.3 m (306 ft) long with a beam of 11.0 m (36 ft). Her designed speed was 24 knots, and she carried a complement of 213.

Her main battery was three 76 mm (3 in) guns.

She was in commission for 478 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 13 March 1948. She was struck from the register on 1 March 1972.

She was broken up for scrap on 20 November 1972.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • GE turbo-electric drive
  • 12000 shp
  • 2 propellers
Armament
  • 3 × 3 in (76 mm) DP guns
  • 3 × 21 in (53 cm) torpedo tubes
  • 1 × 1.1 in (28 mm) quad AA gun
  • 10 × 20 mm cannon
  • 1 × Hedgehog projector
  • 2 × depth charge tracks
  • 8 × K-gun depth charge projectors

Sister ships

73 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from USS William C. Cole on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: Official U.S. Navy photograph taken by an aircraft from Naval Air Station Alameda, California (USA) — U.S. Navy photo [1] from Navsource.org — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons