Warships Military
USS Slater (DE-766) is a Cannon-class destroyer escort that served in the United States Navy and later in the Hellenic (Greek) Navy. The ship was named for Frank O. Slater of Alabama, a sailor killed on the cruiser USS San Francisco during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry in action and the Purple Heart. Following service during World War II, the ship was transferred to Greece and renamed Aetos. Decommissioned in 1991, the destroyer escort was returned to the United States.
USS Slater is now a museum ship on the Hudson River in Albany, New York, the only one of its kind afloat in the United States. (USS Stewart is exhibited at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas, but located on dry land, USS McAnn is preserved in Brazil, and USS Atherton is intended to become part of a Philippine Navy museum at Sangley Point.) Slater was designated a National Historic Landmark on 2 March 2012.
USS Slater was struck by the Hudson River touring ship Dutch Apple on 10 September 2019. A mechanical issue aboard Dutch Apple was to blame for the collision.
USS Slater was laid down on 9 March 1943, she was christened on 20 Feb 1944 by Lenora Slater, mother of Frank Olga Slater and launched on 20 February 1944. The ship was commissioned on 1 May 1944. She was built at the Tampa Shipbuilding Company in Tampa, Florida.
After a shakedown cruise near Bermuda in June 1944, Slater was sent to Key West where she served as a target ship and a sonar school ship. In the latter part of 1944, Slater escorted two convoys to the United Kingdom. She continued serving in this capacity from January 1945 until May 1945.
When the war in Europe ended, Slater headed to the Pacific, stopping at Guantanamo Bay and Panama. She went through the Panama Canal on 28 June 1945 and stopped at San Diego before sailing to Pearl Harbor. From there she joined Task Unit 33.2.4 at Manila in September and escorted it to Yokohama. Slater engaged in support operations in the Pacific through the remainder of the year. She made another passage through the Canal on her way to Norfolk for deactivation. Slater was placed in the reserve fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida in 1947. More details
USS Slater is now a museum ship on the Hudson River in Albany, New York, the only one of its kind afloat in the United States. (USS Stewart is exhibited at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas, but located on dry land, USS McAnn is preserved in Brazil, and USS Atherton is intended to become part of a Philippine Navy museum at Sangley Point.) Slater was designated a National Historic Landmark on 2 March 2012.USS Slater was struck by the Hudson River touring ship Dutch Apple on 10 September 2019. A mechanical issue aboard Dutch Apple was to blame for the collision.
USS Slater was laid down on 9 March 1943, she was christened on 20 Feb 1944 by Lenora Slater, mother of Frank Olga Slater and launched on 20 February 1944. The ship was commissioned on 1 May 1944. She was built at the Tampa Shipbuilding Company in Tampa, Florida.
After a shakedown cruise near Bermuda in June 1944, Slater was sent to Key West where she served as a target ship and a sonar school ship. In the latter part of 1944, Slater escorted two convoys to the United Kingdom. She continued serving in this capacity from January 1945 until May 1945.
When the war in Europe ended, Slater headed to the Pacific, stopping at Guantanamo Bay and Panama. She went through the Panama Canal on 28 June 1945 and stopped at San Diego before sailing to Pearl Harbor. From there she joined Task Unit 33.2.4 at Manila in September and escorted it to Yokohama. Slater engaged in support operations in the Pacific through the remainder of the year. She made another passage through the Canal on her way to Norfolk for deactivation. Slater was placed in the reserve fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida in 1947. More details
