USS Ellet (DD-398)

History

United States
Namesake:	Five members of the Ellet family
Builder:	Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Laid down:	3 December 1936
Launched:	11 June 1938
Commissioned:	17 February 1939
Decommissioned:	29 October 1945
Fate:	Sold 1 August 1947
General characteristics
Class and type:	Benham-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,850 tons
Length:	341 ft 3 in
Beam:	35 ft 6 in
Draft:	10 ft 9 in
Speed:	38 kt
Complement:	184 officers and enlisted
Armament:	4 5", 16 21" torpedo tubes

USS Ellet (DD-398) was a Benham-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for five members of the Ellet family of Pennsylvania who rendered service during the American Civil War: Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr.; Brigadier General Alfred W. Ellet; Colonel Charles R. Ellet; Lieutenant Colonel John A. Ellet; and Edward C. Ellet. The first two officers commanded the Ellet Ram Fleet.

Ellet (DD-398) was launched 11 June 1938 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Miss Elvira Daniel Cabell, granddaughter of Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr.; and commissioned 17 February 1939, Lieutenant Commander F. J. Mee in command.

In September and October 1939 Ellet operated off the Grand Banks on Neutrality Patrol, then with Destroyer Division 18 out of Galveston with the West Gulf Patrol. Based at San Diego, after 26 February 1940, she joined in Battle Force maneuvers as far as Hawaii. In the summer of 1941 her home port became Pearl Harbor and in October she brought home an Army survey expedition from Christmas Island to Honolulu.