By Robert F. Cross
From Baird Maritime:
Smaller and slower than "real" destroyers but nevertheless nearly as heavily armed, destroyer escorts were largely the preserve of American naval reservists in World War II.
Developed in response to the u-boat threat in the Atlantic, some 563 were built and more than 1,300 men lost their lives on them.
Officered and commanded, in the main, by "Ivy League" college boy yachtsmen and crewed by teenagers, the destroyer escorts were generally regarded with disdain by the regular US Navy. They were, none-the-less, impressively effective. In co-operation with their Commonwealth Allied corvette and frigate counterparts, they helped stem the Axis tide.
Remarkably, the author managed to interview surviving crew members from ten per cent of the fleet of DEs. This is their very inspiring story. It is very well told.
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