- USS Heyliger (DE-510)
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Career (US) 
Laid down: 27 April 1944 Launched: 6 August 1944 Commissioned: 24 March 1945 Decommissioned: 20 June 1946 In service: 28 March 1951 Out of service: 2 January 1958 Struck: 1 May 1966 Fate: sunk as target in 1969 General characteristics Displacement: 1,350/1,745 tons Length: 306 ft (93 m) (oa) Beam: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) Draught: 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m) (max) Propulsion: 2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws Speed: 24 knots Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots Complement: 14 officers, 201 enlisted Armament: 2-5"/38, 4 (2x2) 40mmAA, 10-20mm AA, 3-21" TT, 1 Hedgehog, 8 DCT's, 2 DC tracks USS Heyliger (DE-510) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket.
Heyliger (DE-510) was named in honor of George Heyliger who was awarded the Navy Cross for his brave actions during an overwhelming attack by the enemy on Guadalcanal.
She was launched 6 August 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Augusta Foss, mother of Private First Class Heyliger; and commissioned at New York 24 March 1945, Lt. Comdr. Arthur F. Chase, USNR, in command.
Contents
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Heyliger sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, for the Pacific Ocean 25 May, reaching Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal and San Diego, California, 19 June. The new destroyer-escort spent 6 weeks at Pearl for various training exercises and then departed for Guam 14 August, the day before Japan agreed to unconditional surrender.
End-of-war operations
Heyliger reached Guam 30 August and then continued on to Rota Island in the Marianas, where. Colonel H. H. Stent, USMC, accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison 2 September. From 19 September to 21 October Heyliger searched through the Carolines to find Allied survivors and Japanese soldiers, as well as examining conditions in the islands. After a stint of patrol and air-sea rescue operations, Heyliger returned to the States 22 January 1946 and decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Florida, 20 June.
Reactivation during Korean War
Heyliger recommissioned at Green Cove Springs 28 March 1951 and reported to her new home port, Brooklyn, New York. From there she participated in tactical exercises and fleet maneuvers along the American coast and in Caribbean waters. Antisubmarine work, her main mission, took Heyliger to European waters 13 June-10 July 1953 and again 17 June-15 July 1955.
Final decommissioning
She decommissioned and was placed in reserve at Bayonne, New Jersey, 2 January 1958 and later transferred to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Heyliger was struck from the Navy List 1 May 1966 and sunk as a target in 1969 by the Atlantic Fleet.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
See also
External links
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Heyliger (DE-510)
Categories:- John C. Butler class destroyer escorts
- Ships built in New Jersey
- 1944 ships
- World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States
- Ships sunk as targets
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