_underway%2c_circa_in_1944.jpg) USSRichey (DE-385) c. 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States | |
| Namesake | Joseph Lee Richey |
| Builder | Brown Shipbuilding,Houston, Texas |
| Laid down | 19 April 1943 |
| Launched | 30 June 1943 |
| Commissioned | 30 October 1943 |
| Decommissioned | January 1947 |
| Stricken | 30 June 1968 |
| Fate | Sunk as target offCalifornia, July 1969 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Edsall-classdestroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 306 feet (93.27 m) |
| Beam | 36.58 feet (11.15 m) |
| Draft | 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 8 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSRichey (DE-385) was anEdsall-classdestroyer escort built for theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. She served in theAtlantic Ocean and thePacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection againstsubmarine and air attack for Navy vessels andconvoys.
Joseph Lee Richey was born on 8 June 1920 inBarnard, Missouri. He enlisted in theUnited States Naval Reserve on 28 October 1940 and was commissionedEnsign on 26 August 1941. Following training at theNaval Air Station, Pensacola,Florida, that led to his designation as a naval aviator, he was assigned to Observation Squadron (VO) 2 on board the battleshipUSS California. He was killed 7 December 1941 during theJapanese attack onPearl Harbor.
She was laid down 19 April 1943 byBrown Shipbuilding Co.,Houston, Texas; launched 30 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Lee Richey; and commissioned 30 October 1943.
Followingshakedown offBermuda USS Richey (DE-385) commencedconvoy escort duty in the Atlantic. From January to July 1944, she escorted convoys fromNew York andNorfolk, Virginia, toCasablanca,Morocco;Oran,Algeria; andBizerte,Tunisia. From September to October, she guarded convoys from New York toBelfast andLondonderry,Northern Ireland. From January 1945 to late May she escorted convoys between theUnited States,France, andGreat Britain. That April,Richey rescued 32 men from two tankers that had collided and caught fire,SS Nasbulk andSS St. Mihiel.
Following arrival in New York in May and overhaul, she proceeded viaCuba and thePanama Canal to the Pacific where she reported in July to the North Pacific Fleet atAdak, Alaska. In September she occupied the Japanese naval base atOminato, northernHonshū,Japan. After a return to Adak, she sailed viaOkinawa toTaku,China to assist the occupation forces.
In March 1950 she entered theAtlantic Reserve Fleet. Loaned to theU.S. Coast Guard 1 April 1952, she was subsequently returned and entered thePacific Reserve Fleet in June 1954, where she remained until struck from theNavy list 30 June 1968, and sunk as a target.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
