Buckley-class destroyer escort

The Buckley class destroyer escorts were 102 destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943–44. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. The lead ship was USS Buckley (DE-51) which was launched on 9 January 1943. The ships had General Electric steam turbo-electric transmission. The ships were prefabricated at various factories in the United States, and the units brought together in the shipyards, where they were welded together on the slipways.

The Buckley was the second class of destroyer escort, succeeding the Evarts-class destroyer escort. One of the main design differences was that the hull was significantly lengthened on the Buckley; this long-hull design proved so successful that it was used for all further destroyer escort classes. The class was also known as the TE type, from Turbo Electric drive. The TE was replaced with a diesel-electric plant to yield the design of the successor Cannon-class destroyer escort ("DET").

A total of 154 were ordered with 6 being completed as high speed transport APDs. A further 37 were later converted after completion while 46 of the Buckleys were delivered to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease agreement. They were classed as frigates and named after captains of the Napoleonic Wars, and formed part of the Captain-class frigate along with 32 ships of the Evarts-class destroyer escort.

After World War II, most of the surviving units of this class were transferred to Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, Mexico and other countries. The rest were retained by the US Navy's reserve fleet until they were decommissioned.

Film appearance
Most of the film The Enemy Below (1957) was filmed on USS Whitehurst (DE-634), a Buckley-class DE. The rest of the film is set in the submarine that it is hunting.