HMS Duckworth (K351)

HMS Duckworth (K351) was a Captain class frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War as a convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare vessel in the Battle of the Atlantic and was an effective U-boat killer, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats during the conflict.

Construction

Duckworth was ordered on 10 January 1942 as DE-61, long-hulled turbo-diesel (TE) type destroyer escort, one of more than 500 such vessels built for ASW to a collaborative British-American design. Laid down on 16 January 1943 by the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, in Massachusetts, she was launched on 1 May 1943 as USS Gary in honour of Thomas J. Gary, a Texan who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was transferred to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease on completion on 4 August 1943, and named for John Thomas Duckworth, a RN officer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She replaced a previous Duckworth, numbered BDE-19, which was commissioned into the US Navy as the Burden R Hastings. Duckworth's pennant number was K351.

USS Gary

USS Gary may refer to:

USS Thomas J. Gary (DE-326)

USS Thomas J. Gary (DE-326) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort. The ship was named for Seaman 2nd Class Thomas Jones Gary. The ship was renamed Thomas J. Gary on 1 January 1945 to free the name for planned light cruiser USS Gary (CL-147).

Gary (DE-326) was laid down on 15 June 1943 at Orange, Texas by the Consolidated Steel Corporation; launched on 21 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Wille Mae Gary, mother of Seaman 2nd Class Gary and commissioned on 27 November 1943, Lieutenant Commander William H. Harrison, USNR, in command.

US Navy service history

Following shakedown exercises out of Bermuda and post-shakedown overhaul at Charleston, Gary reported to the Commander Caribbean Sea Frontier at Guantanamo Bay for temporary duty on 5 February 1944. She was detached from that command on 9 March and set her course for the Straits of Gibraltar, escorting the first of many transatlantic convoys. Until May 1945, Thomas J. Gary operated as an escort vessel in the Atlantic, safely screening eleven convoys from the East Coast to ports in the Mediterranean and the United Kingdom and back to the United States. Here is a list of the ETO convoys:

USS Gary (FFG-51)

USS Gary (FFG-51) is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate in the United States Navy. She was named for Medal of Honor recipient Commander Donald A. Gary (1903–1977).

Gary was laid down on 18 December 1982 at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California; launched on 19 November 1983, co-sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy G. Gary, widow of the late Cmdr. Gary, and Mrs. Joyce Leamer, the late Medal of Honor recipient’s niece; and commissioned on 17 November 1984 at Naval Station Long Beach, Commander Harlan R. Bankert Jr. in command.

Background

Gary is the forty-fifth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided missile frigates. These ships were built to provide air, surface and sub-surface protection for underway replenishment groups, convoys, amphibious groups and other military and merchant shipping. While a capable surface combatant in these traditional warfare areas, Gary's role has expanded from that of the early 1980s to meet the threats and contingencies of the 21st century. Being the smallest multi-mission surface combatant in the U.S. Navy, Gary's shallow draft gives her an advantage over larger cruisers and destroyers in the littoral operations that have characterized recent conflicts.