{{Short description|Ship type}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} thumb|{{USS|Dealey|DE-1006}}, the first ocean escort thumb|{{USS|Brooke|DEG-1}}, lead ship of the only class of guided missile ocean escorts thumb|{{USS|Knox|DE-1052}}, lead ship of the last class of ocean escorts
'''Ocean escort''' was a type of warship used by the United States Navy. They were an evolution of the destroyer escort types used during World War II. The ocean escorts were intended as convoy escorts and were designed for mobilization production in wartime or low-cost mass production in peacetime. They were commissioned from 1954 through 1974, serving in the Cold War and the Vietnam War.<ref name=Conway1/><ref name=Register1/>
==Designation== The ocean escorts' hull classification symbol was DE, a carryover from the World War II era when vessels of similar size and role were classified as destroyer escorts. DEs were ASW vessels; DEGs were ASW and AAW vessels with the short-range Tartar guided missile added. Ships similar or identical to the World War II destroyer escorts and the Cold War ocean escorts were called "frigates" in most other navies.
Outside the US Navy, no other navy appears to have used the ship type of "ocean escort". The closest equivalents in type name are the Soviet {{sclass|Riga|frigate|5}} and {{sclass|Petya|frigate|5}} classes, built circa 1954–65. These classes' Russian designation of ''storozhevoi korabi'' translates to "escort ship", "sentry ship", or "guard ship".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141223052439/http://russian-ships.info/eng/warships/project_50.htm Archived ''Riga'' class page at russian-ships.info]</ref><ref>[http://russianships.info/eng/warships/project_159.htm Archived ''Petya'' class page at russian-ships.info]</ref> These were smaller than any of the US ocean escorts, at 1,416 tons (''Riga'') and 1,150 tons (''Petya'') full load, compared with {{USS|Dealey|DE-1006|2}} at 1,877 tons full load.<ref>Gardiner & Chumbley, pp. 392–392, 595</ref> Many USN ocean escorts were transferred to foreign navies following USN service; they received pennant numbers beginning with "D", "DE", "F", or (in the Mexican Navy) "E".<ref>[http://www.navsource.net/archives/06idx.htm Various ship pages linked at "Destroyer Escorts, Frigates, and Littoral Warfare Vessels" at NavSource]</ref> The "E" designator was also used for ex-USN {{Sclass|Fletcher|destroyer}}s in that navy.<ref>Gardiner & Chumbley, p. 263</ref>
==Ocean escort classes== * (13) {{Sclass|Dealey|destroyer escort|0}} * (4) {{Sclass|Claud Jones|destroyer escort|0}} * (2) {{Sclass|Bronstein|destroyer escort|0}} * (11) {{Sclass|Garcia|destroyer escort|0}} * (6) {{Sclass|Brooke|destroyer escort|0}} (DEG) * (46) {{Sclass|Knox|destroyer escort|0}} * (82) total
==1975 reclassification== The ocean escort type corresponded to other nations' frigates (convoy escorts). Until 1975, the US Navy used the term "frigate" for destroyer leaders (DL, DLG, DLGN).<ref name=Conway1>{{cite book| last1 = Gardiner| first1 = Robert| last2 = Chumbley| first2 = Stephen | title = Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995 | publisher = Conway Maritime Press | year = 1995 | location = London| pages = 579–585, 595–599 | isbn = 1-55750-132-7 }}</ref><ref name=Register1>{{cite book| last = Bauer| first = K. Jack| author-link = K. Jack Bauer |author2=Roberts, Stephen S. | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants | publisher = Greenwood Press | year = 1991 | location = Westport, Connecticut | pages = 213–217, 240–245 | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
The 1975 ship reclassification changed the ocean escorts (DE/DEG) to frigates (FF/FFG) to be in line with other nations' classifications. The DLG-type "frigates" became either destroyers or cruisers, depending on tonnage.<ref name=Conway1/><ref name=Register1/>
==See also== * List of destroyer escorts of the United States Navy * Frigate * Destroyer escort * Corvette - Cold War French Navy term for frigate-type ships * Escort destroyer
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Escort}} Category:Ship types