USS Finch (DE-328)
 USCGC Finch (WDE-428) | |
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Joseph W. Finch, Jr. |
| Builder: | Consolidated Steel, Orange, Texas |
| Laid down: | 29 June 1943 |
| Launched: | 28 August 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 13 December 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 4 October 1946 |
| Career (USCG) |  |
| Commissioned: | 21 August 1951 as (WDE-428) |
| Decommissioned: | 23 April 1954 |
| Career (US) | |
| Commissioned: | 17 September 1956 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 October 1973 |
| Reclassified: | as DER-328, 21 October 1955 |
| Struck: | 1 February 1974 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, 27 September 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Edsall class destroyer escort |
| Displacement: | 1,253 tons standard 1,590 tons full load |
| Length: | 306 feet (93.27 m) |
| Beam: | 36.58 feet (11.15 m) |
| Draft: | 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft Fairbanks Morse diesels, 6,000 bhp |
| Speed: | 21 knots |
| Range: | 10,800 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 186 |
| Armament: | 3 x 3in. guns 2 x 40 mm 8 x 20 mm 3 x 21" torpedo tubes 2 x depth charge tracks 8 x depth charge projectors 1 x hedge hog |
USS Finch (DE-328) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort in the service of the United States Navy. She was named in honor of Lieutenant Joseph W. Finch, Jr., USNR.
Finch was first launched on 28 August 1943 at Orange, Texas as DE-328. She was commissioned three times.
Finch was first commissioned on 13 December 1943 and took on its officers and initial crew of 182 sailors under the command of Lieutenant Commander Albert H. Nienau, USNR. During her operation from 28 August 1943 until 6 March 1947, Finch entered sixty three ports from the eastern and western ports of the USA through the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Finch was one of several vessels to participate in the evacuation of former POWs of the Japanese from Formosa in September 1945. Finch participated in eighteen Convoys as an escort for a variety of naval and commercial ships. Finch entered drydock at Green Cove Springs, Florida on 4 October 1946 under the command of Lieutenant Commander R. L. Tully but was not finally decommissioned until 6 March 1947.
In the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! the ship was used to portray the USS Ward.
Fate
Transferred to USCG for service between 1951 and 1954 and redesignated WDE-428 cutter.
Stricken 1 February 1974; sold for scrap 16 August 1974.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
External links
- USS Finch Website
- NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive
- http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Finch_1951.html
