USS Hurst (DE-250)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 27 January 1943 |
| Launched: | 14 April 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 30 August 1943 |
| Battle Stars: | Unknown |
| Decommissioned: | 1 May 1946 |
| Struck: | 1 December 1972 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Mexico, 1 October 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class: | Edsall-class destroyer escort |
| Type: | FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive, 3" guns) |
| Displacement: | 1,200 tons (std) 1,590 tons (full) |
| Length: | 306' (oa), 300' (wl) x 36' 10" x 12' 3" (max) |
| Speed: | 21 knots |
| Range: | 9,100 nm @ 12 knots |
| Complement: | 8 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament: | 3 x 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks |
| Propulsion: | 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6000 shp, 2 screws |
USS Hurst (DE-250) 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 Edwin William Hurst who was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses early in the war. She was launched by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas, 14 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Jeanette Harris Hurst, widow; and commissioned 30 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. B. H. Brallier commanding.
Contents |
[edit] World War II North Atlantic operations
Hurst departed Houston 3 September and after a short period of outfitting at Galveston, Texas, sailed 12 September for shakedown training off Bermuda. After returning briefly to Charleston, South Carolina, in November and screening a convoy to the Caribbean, Hurst arrived Norfolk, Virginia, 29 November 1943 to join Escort Division 20.
[edit] Saving Survivors in the Water
Assigned to the vital job of protecting ocean commerce from submarines, Hurst departed Norfolk with her first convoy 14 December 1943, stopped at Casablanca, and returned to New York 24 January 1944. She then conducted gunnery and antisubmarine warfare exercises in Casco Bay, Maine, before sailing with another convoy from New York 23 February. Enemy action was not the only hazard on such voyages as two days out of New York merchant vessels SS El Coston and SS Murfreesboro collided and sank during a heavy gale, the survivors being taken on board one of the ever-ready escort ships. Hurst reached Lisahally, Northern Ireland, 5 March 1944, and 1 week later returned to New York with another convoy.
Hurst made no less than 10 more escort voyages from Boston, Massachusetts, or New York to ports in Northern Ireland and Great Britain before returning to New York 11 June 1945. In this way she contributed mightily to winning the Battle of the Atlantic. After her final voyage, the destroyer escort sailed with her division for training in Chesapeake Bay and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
[edit] Reassigned to the Pacific Fleet
Reassigned to the Pacific Fleet for these last months of the war, she transited the Panama Canal and arrived Pearl Harbor via San Diego, California, 26 July 1945. There the ship took part in exercises with submarines and departed 27 August for the Samoan Islands. Arriving Pago Pago 25 September, Hurst spent the next weeks steaming among the small outlying islands of the Samoan, Fiji, and Society and other island groups, sending parties ashore to search for missing personnel and to investigate possible remaining enemy units. Completing this painstaking duty she departed Pago Pago 3 November 1945 and sailed for San Diego via Pearl Harbor. She arrived San Diego 23 November and sailed 2 days later for New York via the Panama Canal.
[edit] Post-War Decommissioning
Hurst entered New York harbor 10 December 1945, sailed to Green Cove Springs, Florida, and then decommissioned there 1 May 1946. She then entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs. In January 1947 Hurst was transferred to Orange, Texas. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1972. She was transferred to Mexico 1 October 1973 and renamed ARM Manuel Azueta (D-111), the training ship for the Gulf Fleet. She was still in service in the Mexican Navy as of the summer of 2000.
[edit] References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
