.jpg) USSSamuel S. Miles (DE-183) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSamuel S. Miles (DE-183) |
| Namesake | Samuel Stockton Miles |
| Builder | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Newark, New Jersey |
| Laid down | 5 July 1943 |
| Launched | 3 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 4 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 28 March 1946 |
| Stricken | 26 September 1950 |
| Honors & awards | 8battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Transferred toFrance, 12 August 1950 |
.jpg) French destroyer escortArabe (F717) | |
| History | |
 France | |
| Name | Arabe (F717) |
| Namesake | Arab people |
| Acquired | 12 August 1950 |
| Stricken | 1968 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1968 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Class & type | Cannon-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) |
| Draft | 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 × GM Mod. 16-278Adiesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2screws |
| Speed | 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 15 officers and 201 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSSamuel S. Miles (DE-183) was aCannon-classdestroyer escort built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She served in thePacific Ocean and provided escort service againstsubmarine and air attack for Navy vessels andconvoys. She returned home at war's end with eightbattle stars to her credit.[2]
Samuel Stockton Miles was born on 12 November 1913 inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. degree fromPrinceton University,Princeton, New Jersey, in 1936, and an M.D. degree from theJohns Hopkins University,Baltimore, Maryland, in 1940. He was appointed Lieutenant (jg.), Medical Corps,USNR, on 16 May 1942. During the Americanlandings on Tulagi,Solomon Islands, 7 August 1942, he sought to administer medical treatment in the forward area. While attempting to reach casualties despite hostile fire, he was killed by the enemy. He was posthumously awarded theSilver Star.
She was laid down on 5 July 1943 by theFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,Newark, New Jersey; launched on 3 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Samuel S. Miles; and commissioned on 4 November 1943.
Followingshakedown offBermuda,Samuel S. Miles departedNew York City, on 30 December 1943, and steamed via thePanama Canal to theMarshall Islands, arriving on 19 February 1944.
Serving as an escort ship in the Marshall Islands area, she protected fleetoilers during fast carrier air strikes against theCaroline Islands and theHollandia,New Guinea, area in April.
Next she guarded oilers during the capture ofSaipan andTinian, and splashed two enemy planes on 18 June. She supported theLeyte andLuzon,Philippine Islands, campaigns in late 1944 and early 1945.Samuel S. Miles sankI-177 near thePalau Islands on 3 October. After guarding the invasion force atIwo Jima in February, she was assigned toTask Force 54 (TF 54) for theinvasion of Okinawa, where she screened the larger ships in that bombardment group as they poundedOkinawa in the week prior to the 1 April assault landings.Samuel S. Miles destroyed one enemy plane on 27 March.
As the Japanese air arm had been decimated by this point in the war, the lack of trained and experienced pilots led to its most extensive deployment of’'kamikaze'’ attacks during this battle. Akamikaze near-miss on theSamuel S. Miles killed one of her crew members on 11 April, and damaged some of her equipment. After screeningescort carriers operating north of Okinawa, she sailed to theWest Coast in July.
After overhaul, she sailed via the Panama Canal toNorfolk, Virginia, arriving on 21 October. ReachingSt. Johns River,Florida, on 8 November 1945, she was decommissioned and entered theReserve Fleet on 28 March 1946.[3]Samuel S. Miles was transferred to France under theMutual Defense Assistance Program on 12 August 1950.[4] and was renamedArabe, with thepennant number F 717.[5] She was formally struck from the USNavy List on 26 September 1950.[3] She was stricken from French service in 1958.[5][a]
Samuel S. Miles received eightbattle stars forWorld War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
