USS Slater (Destroyer Escort Historical Museum)

The USS Slater is a Cannon class destroyer escort ship built in 1944 to help protect convoys during World War II. Now a museum ship officially called the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum, it is one of only ten destroyer escorts still in existence and the only one still afloat. It has also retained its original configuration. The Slater was named after Frank Slater, who served on the USS San Francisco and was killed during the Battle of Guadalcanal when a Japanese bomber crashed into his battle station. The Slater was acquired by the Greek Navy in 1951 and renamed Aetos. It remained in service until 1991 when Greece donated it to the Destroyer Escort Historical Foundation. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. It opened to the public in the mid-1990s.

Early in World War II, it became increasingly clear that modern destroyer escorts were needed to protect convoys from German submarines, which were wreaking havoc on supply ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The British Navy, which was desperate for help, asked the U.S. Navy to design new escort ships. The General Board of the U.S. Navy approved a design developed by the firm Gibbs and Cox that was based on the relatively small, but sturdy British Hunt class destroyer. The firm designed a fast, highly maneuverable ship with heavy anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons and state-of-the-art electronic vessel detection technology (radar, sonar, and high-and frequency radio direction finder). However, the U.S. Navy did not start building the new class of ship until 1942 because it had obligations to build other vessels first (the first one was launched in February 1943).

The USS Slater was commissioned in May, 1944 and built in Tampa Bay, Florida by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company. When the Slater was launched, it first served as a target ship and sonar training school ship. From January to May 1945, it escorted convoys to England. It then sailed to the Pacific in June and participated in support operations in preparation for the U.S. invasion of Japan before Japan surrendered in August. It appears the Slater never participated in any significant engagement during the war.

After the war, the Slater was donated to the Greek Navy where it patrolled the Aegean Sea. In 1991, Greece donated it to the Destroyer Escort Historical Foundation. It arrived in New York in 1993, and, to the dismay of all, it was in extremely poor condition. It was thought that the Slater would be dismantled for scrap metal as what happened to countless other WWII vessels. However, the Slater was restored and this process continues today. New destroyers were named after sailors who had died and New York had the highest number (44). This is why Albany was chosen to be the site of the museum. 

"History." USS Slater. Accessed October 12, 2015. http://www.ussslater.org/history/history.html.

"Historic WWII Vintage Destroyer to Transit New York's Hudson River." The Maritime Executive. August 18, 2020. https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/historic-wwii-vintage-destroyer-to-transit-new-york-s-hudson-river.

Rivet, Eric. "USS Slater." National Park Service - National Historic Landmark Nomination Form. March 2, 2012. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315637.