Museum of Science and Industry

The Destroyer Escorts

Supporting USS Guadalcanal in Hunter-Killer Task Group 22.3 were five destroyer escorts:

• USS CHATELAIN  (DE-149)
• USS FLAHERTY (DE-135)
• USS JENKS (DE-665)
• USS PILLSBURY (DE-133)
• USS POPE (DE-134) 

Destroyer escorts were lighter, smaller, faster and more maneuverable than conventional, heavily armored destroyers—perfect for hunting and attacking the elusive U-boats. Each "Tin Can", as U.S. sailors fondly called them, was equipped with radar to locate surfaced U-boats. Submerged U-boats could be detected using sonar and hydrophones.

 Destroyer escorts had guns and torpedoes for attacking surfaced U-boats, small hedgehog bombs that exploded when they hit submerged U-boats, and powerful underwater depth charges that could be set to explode at specific depths. U-boat captains did everything in their power to avoid the destroyer escorts.