USS La Prade (DE-409)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | La Prade |
| Namesake: | Robert M. La Prade |
| Builder: | Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas |
| Laid down: | 18 November 1943 |
| Launched: | 31 December 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 20 April 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 11 May 1946 |
| Struck: | 15 January 1972 |
| Fate: | sold for scrapping 15 January 1973 |
| 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 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 14 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
USS La Prade (DE-409) 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.
The ship was named in honor of USMC First Lieutenant Robert M. La Prade who was awarded the Navy Cross for bravery in action on Guadalcanal. The destroyer escort's keel was laid down on 18 November 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co. at their yard in Houston, Texas. The ship was launched on 31 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. J. T. La Prade, mother of the late Lieutenant La Prade, and commissioned on 20 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. C. M. Fellows in command.
Completing shakedown off Bermuda, La Prade departed Norfolk, Virginia on 27 June 1944 for the Pacific Ocean, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 25 July. The destroyer escort engaged in ASW, screening, and escort operations out of Pearl Harbor and departed 8 September for Eniwetok. Operating out of Eniwetok and Ulithi, La Prade continued escort and patrol services, sailing with a hunter-killer task group during the Palau Islands invasion. When the Palaus, needed as logistic bases for the Philippine Islands invasion, were secure, La Prade returned to Eniwetok 9 October and resumed escort and patrol duty.
...
Wikipedia