USS Forster (DE-334)
| AlternateTextHere | |
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Edward William Forster |
| Builder: | Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas |
| Laid down: | 31 August 1943 |
| Launched: | 13 November 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 25 January 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 25 September 1971 |
| Reclassified: | DER-334, 21 October 1955 |
| Struck: | 25 September 1971 |
| Fate: | Loaned to South Vietnam, 25 September 1971 |
| Career (USCG) |  |
| Name: | USCGC Forster WDE-434 |
| Commissioned: | 29 June 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 25 May 1954 |
| Fate: | Returned to USN, 25 May 1954 |
| Career (South Vietnam) | Flag of South Vietnam |
| Name: | RVNS Tran Khanh Du (HQ-04) |
| Acquired: | 25 September 1971 |
| Fate: | Captured by North Vietnam, 29 April 1975 |
| Career (Vietnam) | Flag of Vietnam |
| Name: | VPNS Dai Ky (HQ-03) |
| Acquired: | 29 April 1975 |
| Fate: | In service c. 1997, status unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Edsall-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement: |
1,253 tons standard 1,590 tons full load |
| Length: | 306 feet (93.27 m) |
| Beam: | 36.58 feet (11.15 m) |
| Draft: | 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m) |
| Propulsion: |
4 FM diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp (4.5 MW), 2 screws |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Range: |
9,100 nmi. at 12 knots (17,000 km at 22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 8 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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USS Forster (DE-334) was launched 13 November 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; sponsored by Mrs. E. W. Forster, widow of Machinist Forster; and commissioned 25 January 1944. She served as an escort in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs 15 June 1946.
Contents
Coast Guard Service
She was turned over to the Coast Guard on 20 June 1951 and served with the nation's oldest continuous-going sea service until 25 May 1954. Forster (given the Coast Guard hull number WDE-434) served on ocean station duty out of Honolulu. This included duty on stations VICTOR, QUEEN, and SUGAR and voyages to Japan. She also conducted SAR duties, including finding and assisting the following vessels in distress: the M/V Katori Maru on 17 August 1952, assisting the M/V Chuk Maru on 29 August 1953, the M/V Tongshui on 1 October – 3 October 1953, and the M/V Steel Fabricator on 26 October 1953.
Republic of Vietnam Service
She returned to reserve in naval custody until recommissioned at Long Beach, Calif., 23 October 1956. She served in the Navy until she was transferred on 25 September 1971 to South Vietnam. The Vietnamese reclassified her as a frigate and renamed her RVNS Tran Khanh Du (HQ-04). In 1974, she participated in the Battle of the Paracel Islands.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Service
She was in a shipyard, in overhaul, when Saigon fell on 29 April 1975, and was captured by North Vietnamese forces. The U.S. Navy wrote her off as “Transferred to Vietnam, 30 April 1975.” The communists renamed her VPNS Dai Ky (HQ-03), she apparently was still seaworthy in 1997 and was used as a training ship. By 1999, she was reduced to a training hulk.
Military awards and honors
| 60px | Combat Action Ribbon |
| 60px | American Campaign Medal |
| 60px | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal |
| European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with one bronze service star) | |
| 60px | World War II Victory Medal |
| 60px | Navy Occupation Service Medal |
| National Defense Service Medal (with one bronze service star) | |
| 60px | Antarctica Service Medal |
| Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (with one bronze service star) | |
| Vietnam Service Medal (with one silver and two bronze service stars) | |
| 60px | Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm (with four bronze service stars) |
| 60px | Vietnam Campaign Medal |
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
See also
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Edsall class destroyer escorts
- World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States
- United States Navy ships transferred to the United States Coast Guard
- United States Navy ships transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy
- Ships built in Texas
- 1943 ships
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