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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Chambers |
| Namesake | Russell Franklyn Chambers |
| Builder | Brown Shipbuilding,Houston, Texas |
| Laid down | 28 May 1943 |
| Launched | 17 August 1943 |
| Commissioned | 22 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 20 June 1960 |
| Reclassified | DER-391, 28 October 1954 |
| Stricken | 1 March 1975 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 24 September 1975 |
 United States | |
| Name | USCGCChambers WDE-491 |
| Commissioned | 11 June 1952 |
| Decommissioned | 30 July 1954 |
| Fate | Returned to USN, 30 July 1954 |
| 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 |
|
USSChambers (DE-391) was anEdsall-classdestroyer escort in service with theUnited States Navy from 1943 to 1946 and from 1955 to 1960. From 1952 to 1954, she was loaned to theUnited States Coast Guard where she served as USCGCChambers (WDE-491). She was finally scrapped in 1975.
Russell Franklyn Chambers was born on 10 June 1914 inLa Habra, California. He was appointed aviation cadet,United States Naval Reserve on 5 December 1938 and commissionedEnsign on 4 November 1939. On duty in thePhilippines when the United States entered World War II, he was reported missing in action 27 December 1941 after an engagement withJapanese aircraft overJolo. He was officially declared dead 28 December 1942.
Chambers was launched 17 August 1943 byBrown Shipbuilding Co.,Houston, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. R. F. Chambers; commissioned 22 November 1943 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.
After a period astraining ship for prospective escort vessel crews,Chambers clearedNorfolk, Virginia, 13 February 1944 on the first of eightconvoy escort crossings toNorth African ports from Norfolk, Virginia, andNew York City. Steadfast to her important duty of guarding the men and materiel vital to the success of operations in theEuropean theater,Chambers defied the hazards of the sea and the enemy to bring her charges safely to port.
On 8 July 1945Chambers sailed from New York forPearl Harbor, where she arrived 16 August to transport homeward bound servicemen toSan Pedro, California. She put out to sea from San Pedro for the east coast 11 September, and on 22 April 1946, was decommissioned and placed in reserve atGreen Cove Springs, Florida.
Loaned to theUnited States Treasury Department,Chambers was commissioned as a Coast Guard ship 11 June 1952, and redesignated WDE-491. Operating fromNew Bedford, Massachusetts, she served on Atlantic weather patrols and made several cruises toNewfoundland until 30 July 1954, when the Coast Guard decommissioned her and returned her to the Navy. She also participated in the International Iceberg patrol.
Returned to reserve status,Chambers was reclassified DER-391 on 28 October 1954, and began conversion to aradar picket escort vessel.Chambers was recommissioned 1 June 1955 for radar picket duty out ofNewport, Rhode Island She was assigned to theAtlantic Barrier Patrol in June 1956, with which she operated until placed out of commission in reserve 20 June 1960, atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.
On 1 March 1975 she was struck from theNavy list, and was sold for scrap on 24 September 1975.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
