USS Sloat (DE-245)

History

United States
Namesake:	John Drake Sloat
Builder:	Brown Shipbuilding Houston, Texas
Laid down:	21 November 1942
Launched:	21 January 1943
Commissioned:	16 August 1943
Decommissioned:	6 August 1947
Struck:	2 January 1971
Fate:	Sold for scrapping 10 April 1972
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 Sloat (DE-245) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.

She was named in honor of Rear Admiral John Drake Sloat (1781–1867). She was laid down on 21 November 1942 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas; launched on 21 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. J. B. Deason; and commissioned on 16 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Edmund Ernest García in command.

Sloat moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, on 28 August and sailed from there on 5 September to Bermuda for her shakedown cruise. Following a post-shakedown yard availability period at Charleston, South Carolina., from 7 to 17 October, the escort sailed to New York. She escorted convoy UGS-22 from there, on 22 October, to Norfolk, Virginia, and returned. The first week in November, she escorted UGS-23 to Norfolk. On 11 November, Sloat, as a unit of Escort Division (CortDiv) 7, stood out of New York with convoy UGS-24 bound for Norfolk and North Africa. The convoy arrived at Casablanca on 2 December, and the escort picked up GUS-26 there, five days later, and returned to New York on 25 December 1943.

On 10 January 1944, Sloat joined UGS-30 en route to Casablanca and returned with GUS-29 on 22 February. The escort joined the New York section of convoy UGS-36 on 10 March and sailed to Norfolk where it rendezvoused with the main body. The convoy, consisting of 72 merchant ships and 18 LST's, was guarded by Task Force (TF) 64. En route to Bizerte, Tunisia, the convoy was attacked by the Luftwaffe on 1 April, approximately 56 miles west of Algiers. Two planes were shot down and two damaged while only one ship in the convoy was damaged. The convoy arrived at Bizerte on 3 April. Eight days later, Sloat joined another convoy and returned to New York on 1 May.

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