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USS Ellyson (DD-454)
Encyclopedia
USS Ellyson (DD-454/DMS-19), a , is the only ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Theodore Gordon Ellyson
, a submariner
who became the first officer of the U.S. Navy to be designated a naval aviator
.
on 20 December 1940. She was launched
on 26 July 1941 sponsored by Miss Gordon Ellyson, daughter of Commander Ellyson, and commissioned
on 28 November 1941 with Lieutenant Commander
L. B. Rooney in command.
entered World War II
, Ellyson was quickly readied for sea and patrolled in the Atlantic, protecting Allied shipping from Halifax
, Nova Scotia
, to the West Indies and Panama Canal
. On 14 January 1942 she rescued 24 survivors from the sunken Norwegian
SS Norness. On 15 June she broke the pennant
of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 10, which she was to carry proudly through the war, through the squadron's redesignatian to Mine Division 20 and the subsequent conversion of its destroyers to high-speed minesweeper
s.
In August 1942 Ellyson began operating with the aircraft carrier
, and remained with her through the landings at Fedhala, French Morocco
, on 8 November. After two months of escort duty along the east coast, she rejoined Ranger on two voyages to Casablanca
to ferry Army
planes to north Africa
.
, Dominion of Newfoundland
, to prepare for operations with the Royal Navy
. She sailed for England
on 12 May in the screen of the battleship
s and , and operated with the British Home Fleet
out of Scapa Flow
in the Orkney Islands
screening convoy
s, giving distant support to Allied shipping to Murmansk
and Iceland
, and attempting to lure German
battleship and other German surface ships from the safety of Norwegian bases to battle on the open seas. In July she took part in a feint invasion of southern Norway to distract German attention from the real assault on Sicily
.
Returning to Norfolk, Virginia
, on 9 August 1943, Ellyson screened during the battleship's shakedown cruise
off Argentina, then returned to Norfolk with her on 24 October. On 3 November Ellyson sailed in the scouting line for Iowa who was carrying President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
to the Teheran Conference. Later, moving into the battleship's screen, Ellyson touched Bahia
, Brazil
; Freetown
, Sierra Leone
, Dakar
, and Port Royal, South Carolina
; before returning to Boston, Massachusetts, on 19 December.
. She sailed for north Africa 19 April and arrived at Oran
on 1 May. On the 16th while hunting submarine
s Ellyson made contact on U-616, touching off an intensive coordinated air-sea hunt. The submarine surfaced at 23:58, and soon dived after a brief duel with . Ellyson and continued the attack with depth charge
s, forcing U-616 to surface again. Ellyson sank her with gunfire on the morning of the 17th, then rescued 30 survivors.
Ellyson arrived at Plymouth
, on 22 May 1944 for last-minute preparations for the invasion of France. On 6 June she covered Ranger's assault on Pointe de Hoc to knock out the heavy gun emplacements reported there. On 25 June she saw action off Cherbourg
, blasting gun installations, destroying naval mine
s, and laying a smoke screen for larger fleet units.
Ellyson sailed from Portland Harbour
on 29 June 1944, to invade southern France
on 15 August. She led the destroyer fires support group in directly behind the minesweepers and knocked out defenses for the incoming troops. On patrol on 27 August she illuminated a suspicious fishing vessel and captured it, finding 50 German submariners trying to escape. Ellyson remained on patrol to cover the landing of reinforcements and support the invasion until October, then sailed for Boston, arriving 8 November to begin conversion to a high-speed minesweeper. She was reclassified to hull classification symbol
DMS-19 on 15 November 1944.
, Ellyson sailed from Norfolk, on 3 January 1945 for the Pacific. On 24 March she arrived off Okinawa with the rest of her squadron to sweep in advance of the invasion
. After thus making possible the pre-assault bombardment, she supported smaller minesweepers clearing approaches to the beaches and inner harbors. After the landings of 1 April Ellyson joined the radar picket
line. The varied and dangerous duties assigned her squadron in the Okinawa operation took a heavy toll, only three of the 12 ships with whom she sailed in the next three months survived undamaged. Ellyson went to the aid of her sister ship on 6 April, attempting to tow the abandoned kamikaze
victim. Flames and the threat of a magazine explosion forced Ellyson to sink the stricken destroyer early on 7 April to prevent her drifting on to Japan
ese-held Ie Shima. Ellyson herself was attacked several times and accounted for a number of Japanese planes.
In July 1945 Ellyson became flagship
for the task group sweeping the East China Sea
. Upon the ceasefire, she joined Third Fleet off Tokyo Bay
and cleared it for the incoming occupation fleet units. In September she returned to Okinawa, and from her base at Buckner Bay, served as command ship for clearing the Inland Sea. She sailed from Japan on 5 December for Norfolk, arriving 5 January 1946.
. In 1948 she was immobilized at Charleston, resumed operations that November when she sailed to Argentia to sweep for an amphibious exercise. Attached to Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet
, Ellyson continued to operate from Charleston on training duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean. She served in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet in 1949, 1951, and 1953. On 4 May 1954 her hull classification symbol reverted to DD-454. She was decommissioned 19 October 1954, and transferred to the Japanese Government 20 October 1954 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. She served in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
as Asakaze.
In 1970 the ship was returned to the United States, and was sold to Taiwan
, where she was cannibalized for spare parts.
occasionally featured a fictional frigate
called USS Ellyson, which bears hull number 19. FFG-19 is the .
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for Theodore Gordon Ellyson
Theodore Gordon Ellyson
Theodore Gordon Ellyson, USN , nicknamed "Spuds", was the first United States Navy officer designated as an aviator . Ellyson served in the experimental development of aviation in the years before and after World War I. He also spent several years before the war as part of the Navy's new...
, a submariner
Submariner
Submariner can mean:*A sailor who is a crewman of a submarine*Namor the Sub-Mariner, a comic-book character in the Marvel Comics Universe*Rolex Submariner, a make of diver's watch*Submariner an album by Experimental rock band The Dead Science...
who became the first officer of the U.S. Navy to be designated a naval aviator
Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
.
Initial operations
Ellyson was laid down by Federal Shipbuilding of Kearny, New JerseyKearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
on 20 December 1940. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 26 July 1941 sponsored by Miss Gordon Ellyson, daughter of Commander Ellyson, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 28 November 1941 with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
L. B. Rooney in command.
1942
Still outfitting when the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ellyson was quickly readied for sea and patrolled in the Atlantic, protecting Allied shipping from Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, to the West Indies and Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. On 14 January 1942 she rescued 24 survivors from the sunken Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
SS Norness. On 15 June she broke the pennant
Broad pennant
A broad pennant is a swallow-tailed tapering flag flown from the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of a commodore on board. It is so called because its dimensions are roughly 2:3....
of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 10, which she was to carry proudly through the war, through the squadron's redesignatian to Mine Division 20 and the subsequent conversion of its destroyers to high-speed minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s.
In August 1942 Ellyson began operating with the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, and remained with her through the landings at Fedhala, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, on 8 November. After two months of escort duty along the east coast, she rejoined Ranger on two voyages to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
to ferry Army
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
planes to north Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
1943
On 5 April 1943 Ellyson arrived at NS ArgentiaNaval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...
, Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, to prepare for operations with the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She sailed for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 12 May in the screen of the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s and , and operated with the British Home Fleet
British Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...
out of Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
screening convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s, giving distant support to Allied shipping to Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and attempting to lure German
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
battleship and other German surface ships from the safety of Norwegian bases to battle on the open seas. In July she took part in a feint invasion of southern Norway to distract German attention from the real assault on Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
.
Returning to Norfolk, Virginia
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, on 9 August 1943, Ellyson screened during the battleship's shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
off Argentina, then returned to Norfolk with her on 24 October. On 3 November Ellyson sailed in the scouting line for Iowa who was carrying President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
to the Teheran Conference. Later, moving into the battleship's screen, Ellyson touched Bahia
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
; Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, and Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
; before returning to Boston, Massachusetts, on 19 December.
1944
On 6 January 1944 Ellyson once again joined Ranger for screen and plane guard duty in Narragansett BayNarragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
. She sailed for north Africa 19 April and arrived at Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
on 1 May. On the 16th while hunting submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s Ellyson made contact on U-616, touching off an intensive coordinated air-sea hunt. The submarine surfaced at 23:58, and soon dived after a brief duel with . Ellyson and continued the attack with depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s, forcing U-616 to surface again. Ellyson sank her with gunfire on the morning of the 17th, then rescued 30 survivors.
Ellyson arrived at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, on 22 May 1944 for last-minute preparations for the invasion of France. On 6 June she covered Ranger's assault on Pointe de Hoc to knock out the heavy gun emplacements reported there. On 25 June she saw action off Cherbourg
Bombardment of Cherbourg
The Bombardment of Cherbourg was undertaken by ships of the United States Navy and Royal Navy on June 25, 1944 to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg. The Allied force attacked the German fortifications near the city and engaged in a duel with coastal batteries...
, blasting gun installations, destroying naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s, and laying a smoke screen for larger fleet units.
Ellyson sailed from Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
on 29 June 1944, to invade southern France
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
on 15 August. She led the destroyer fires support group in directly behind the minesweepers and knocked out defenses for the incoming troops. On patrol on 27 August she illuminated a suspicious fishing vessel and captured it, finding 50 German submariners trying to escape. Ellyson remained on patrol to cover the landing of reinforcements and support the invasion until October, then sailed for Boston, arriving 8 November to begin conversion to a high-speed minesweeper. She was reclassified to hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
DMS-19 on 15 November 1944.
1945
After training in Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, Ellyson sailed from Norfolk, on 3 January 1945 for the Pacific. On 24 March she arrived off Okinawa with the rest of her squadron to sweep in advance of the invasion
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. After thus making possible the pre-assault bombardment, she supported smaller minesweepers clearing approaches to the beaches and inner harbors. After the landings of 1 April Ellyson joined the radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
line. The varied and dangerous duties assigned her squadron in the Okinawa operation took a heavy toll, only three of the 12 ships with whom she sailed in the next three months survived undamaged. Ellyson went to the aid of her sister ship on 6 April, attempting to tow the abandoned kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
victim. Flames and the threat of a magazine explosion forced Ellyson to sink the stricken destroyer early on 7 April to prevent her drifting on to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese-held Ie Shima. Ellyson herself was attacked several times and accounted for a number of Japanese planes.
In July 1945 Ellyson became flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for the task group sweeping the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. Upon the ceasefire, she joined Third Fleet off Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
and cleared it for the incoming occupation fleet units. In September she returned to Okinawa, and from her base at Buckner Bay, served as command ship for clearing the Inland Sea. She sailed from Japan on 5 December for Norfolk, arriving 5 January 1946.
Post war
Ellyson remained in the Atlantic, based at Charleston, South Carolina, primarily, for training as far as the Caribbean SeaCaribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. In 1948 she was immobilized at Charleston, resumed operations that November when she sailed to Argentia to sweep for an amphibious exercise. Attached to Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, Ellyson continued to operate from Charleston on training duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean. She served in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet in 1949, 1951, and 1953. On 4 May 1954 her hull classification symbol reverted to DD-454. She was decommissioned 19 October 1954, and transferred to the Japanese Government 20 October 1954 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. She served in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....
as Asakaze.
In 1970 the ship was returned to the United States, and was sold to Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, where she was cannibalized for spare parts.
Fictional ships
The television show JAGJAG (TV series)
JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
occasionally featured a fictional frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
called USS Ellyson, which bears hull number 19. FFG-19 is the .