USS Ellet (DD-398)

USS Ellet (DD-398)
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Ship name	USS Ellet (DD-398)
Ship class	Benham-class destroyer
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	15 August 1936
Launched	3 April 1938
Commissioned	8 September 1939
Decommissioned	17 June 1946
Fate	Sold for scrap 1947
Displacement	1,500 tons (standard)
Length	341 ft 3 in
Beam	35 ft 6 in
Draft	10 ft 5 in
Propulsion	Geared steam turbines, 50,000 shp
Speed	37.3 kn
Complement	186
Armament	4 × 5 in/38 cal guns, 4 × 0.50 in MG, 12 × 21 in torpedo tubes

USS Ellet (DD-398) was a Benham-class destroyer of the United States Navy commissioned on 8 September 1939. Named for members of the Ellet family, the ship served in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, escorting convoys, conducting antisubmarine warfare, and participating in major operations during World War II. Ellet earned battle stars for wartime service and was decommissioned shortly after the war.

Design and Construction

Ellet was ordered as part of the Washington Naval Treaty era naval expansion that influenced the United States Navy destroyer programs of the 1930s. Built at the Boston Navy Yard, she was laid down on 15 August 1936 and launched on 3 April 1938 with sponsor connections to the Ellet family. As a Benham-class destroyer, Ellet featured an arrangement of four 5-inch/38 caliber guns and three quadruple 21-inch torpedo tube mounts characteristic of the class, as well as geared steam turbines providing approximately 50,000 shp for high-speed operations. Her hull and machinery reflected advances in Naval architecture and Steam turbine propulsion adopted by the United States Navy between the Washington Naval Treaty and the outbreak of World War II.

Service History

Following commissioning, Ellet conducted shakedown training along the New England coast and in the Caribbean Sea before being assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. During the pre-war and early-war period she operated from bases including Norfolk, Virginia, providing escort duties for convoys and participating in fleet exercises with units of the United States Fleet. After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Ellet's operational tempo increased, encompassing convoy escort across the North Atlantic and antisubmarine patrols in coordination with other destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy.

World War II Operations

In 1942–1943 Ellet escorted transatlantic convoys between New York City, Gibraltar, Scotland, and Iceland, operating under the protective umbrella of Convoy escort task groups coordinated by the United States Navy and the Royal Navy. She conducted depth charge attacks and coordinated with Escort carriers and B-24 Liberator patrol aircraft during antisubmarine engagements involving U-boats of the Kriegsmarine. Later redeployed to the Pacific Ocean theater, Ellet supported amphibious operations in the Aleutian Islands Campaign and undertook shore bombardment, screening, and local convoy duties during operations that linked to broader campaigns such as the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and the Marianas Campaign. Ellet participated in hunter-killer groups and provided screening for fleet carrier task forces during strikes that connected to operations at Saipan, Tinian, and Guadalcanal-era logistics. Throughout wartime operations she coordinated with ships from the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and other Allied naval forces.

Postwar Fate

Following V-J Day and the cessation of hostilities in 1945, Ellet returned to the United States for deactivation. She was decommissioned on 17 June 1946 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register. In 1947 Ellet was sold for scrap as part of the postwar reduction of the United States Navy's wartime fleet, concluding her service that had spanned convoy escort, antisubmarine warfare, and multi-theater operations.

Awards and Honors

For her wartime service Ellet received multiple campaign recognitions, including battle stars for participation in World War II operations. Her crew qualified for campaign ribbons and unit citations issued by the Department of the Navy for service in the Atlantic Theater and the Pacific Theater of operations. Naval History and Heritage Command records and unit histories list Ellet among the Benham-class destroyers credited with convoy protection and ASW achievements during the conflict.

Category:Benham-class destroyers Category:Ships built in Boston Category:1938 ships Category:World War II destroyers of the United States