Sam Davis Presley
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | Presley |
| Namesake: | Sam Davis Presley |
| Builder: | Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas |
| Laid down: | 6 June 1944 |
| Launched: | 19 August 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 7 November 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 June 1946 |
| Struck: | 30 June 1968 |
| Identification: | DE-371 |
| Fate: | sold for scrapping 2 April 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | John C. Butler-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement: | 1,350 tons |
| Length: | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam: | 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp (8,900 kW); 2 propellers |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 14 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
USS Presley (DE-371) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket.
She was named in honor of Aviation Machinist’s Mate first class Sam Davis Presley who received the Navy Cross for his brave actions during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
Sam Presley enlisted in the Navy 7 November 1939. On 30 September 1942 he became an Aviation Machinist’s Mate first class.
As his ship, the aircraft carrier Enterprise, came under sustained enemy air attack, he voluntarily abandoned the shelter of his normal battle station. Climbing into a plane parked on the flight deck, he manned the flexible guns in the rear cockpit and commenced an effective fire against the attacking aircraft. As the battle continued, a bomb explosion blew the plane overboard. AM1 Presley was listed as missing in action and presumed dead 27 October 1942.
The vessel's keel was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. at their yard in Orange, Texas on 6 June 1944. The destroyer escort was launched on 19 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Willie Lynn Presley, and commissioned on 7 November 1944, Lt. Comdr. Richard S. Paret, USNR, in command.
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