USS Pillsbury (DE-133)

History

United States
Namesake:	John E. Pillsbury
Builder:	Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas
Laid down:	18 July 1942
Launched:	10 January 1943
Commissioned:	7 June 1943 to 1947 15 March 1955 to 20 June 1960
Reclassified:	DER 133, August 1954
Struck:	1 July 1965
Honours and awards:	5 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation
Fate:	Sold for scrapping, 1966
General characteristics
Class and type:	Edsall-class destroyer escort
Displacement:	1,253 tons standard 1,590 tons full load
Length:	306 feet (93.27 m)
Beam:	36.58 feet (11.15 m)
Draft:	10.42 full load feet (3.18 m)
Propulsion:	4 FM diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp (4.5 MW), 2 screws
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h)
Range:	9,100 nmi. at 12 knots (17,000 km at 22 km/h)
Complement:	8 officers, 201 enlisted
Armament:	3 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 guns (3 × 1) 2 × 40 mm AA guns (1 × 2) 8 × 20 mm AA guns (8 × 1) 3 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (1 × 3) 8 × depth charge projectors 1 × depth charge projector (hedgehog) 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Pillsbury (DE-133) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned at war's end with five battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation.

She was named after Rear Admiral John E. Pillsbury, known as having been one of the world’s foremost geographers and as an authority of the Gulf Stream. Actively identified with the National Geographic Society for many years, he was president of the society at the time of his death, 30 December 1919.

Pillsbury (DE–133) was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas, 18 July 1942; launched 10 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Elsie G. Richardson; and commissioned 7 June 1943, Lt. Comdr. W. Parker, USNR, in command. Parker would later be succeeded by Francis L. Dale (later owner of the Cincinnati Reds, and a member of Richard M. Nixon's campaign staff.)

After shakedown Pillsbury’s first duty was as flagship for Escort Division 4, escorting convoys into Casablanca and Gibraltar. Pillsbury then reported to Task Group 21.12, consisting of USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) and four destroyer escorts, on hunter killer patrol to seek out and destroy enemy submarines operating along or near convoy routes from the United States to Europe.

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