She was named in honor of Hubert Paul Chatelain who was awarded a Silver Star posthumously for his valiant actions before he was killed in action 26 October 1942 during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
Chatelain (DE-149) was launched 21 April 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp. of Orange, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. L. T. Chatelain; commissioned 22 September 1943 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.
Battle of the Atlantic
Destined to play an important part in sweeping the Atlantic of German submarines, Chatelain escorted two convoys from east coast ports to Derry and Gibraltar between 20 November 1943 and 7 March 1944, and was then assigned to operate as part of the hunter-killer group formed around USS Guadalcanal(CVE-60). During the last year of the European war, while operating with the Guadalcanal group, Chatelain joined in the sinking of two German submarines, and the capture of a third.
Sinking of the German submarine U-515
Her first action took place 9 April 1944, as her group sailed from Casablanca to the United States. U-515 was detected when her radio transmissions were picked up, and planes and ships of the task group pressed home a firm attack. Chatelain forced the enemy submarine to the surface with two depth charge attacks, then joined in the general firing at point-blank range which followed, sending U-515 to the bottom at 34°35′N19°18′W / 34.583°N 19.300°W / 34.583; -19.300.
Capturing the German submarine U-505
On 4 June 1944, Chatelain had the distinction of initiating one of the most dramatic incidents of the war, when she made a sound contact, and hurled a barrage of hedgehogs at a U-boat. A second attack by Chatelain, this time with depth charges, holed U-505's outer hull and forced her to surface, her crew jumping overboard as she broke water. Now the task group seized its chance to carry out the boarding operation it had been planning for months, for the first capture by Americans of an intact German submarine. Successful in taking control of the submarine and executing the damage control that made its towing practicable, the group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for this action.
Chatelain had patrol and convoy escort duty, as well as serving as plane guard during aviation exercises, until 20 November 1945, when she arrived at Charleston, South Carolina. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Florida on 14 June 1946.
Awards
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Chatelain received five battle stars for World War II service.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Chatelain (DE-149).
NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive – USS CHATELAIN DE-149
January 07, 2023
chatelain, edsall, class, destroyer, escort, service, with, united, states, navy, from, 1943, 1946, finally, scrapped, 1974, june, 1944historyunited, statesnamesakehubert, paul, chatelainbuilderconsolidated, steel, corporation, orange, texaslaid, down25, janua. USS Chatelain DE 149 was an Edsall class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 She was finally scrapped in 1974 USS Chatelain DE 149 on 4 June 1944HistoryUnited StatesNamesakeHubert Paul ChatelainBuilderConsolidated Steel Corporation Orange TexasLaid down25 January 1943Launched21 April 1943Commissioned22 September 1943Decommissioned14 June 1946Stricken1 August 1973Honours andawards5 battle stars plus the Presidential Unit CitationFateSold for scrapping 24 June 1974General characteristicsClass and typeEdsall class destroyer escortDisplacement1 253 tons standard 1 590 tons full loadLength306 feet 93 27 m Beam36 58 feet 11 15 m Draft10 42 full load feet 3 18 m Propulsion4 FM diesel engines 4 diesel generators 6 000 shp 4 5 MW 2 screwsSpeed21 knots 39 km h Range9 100 nmi at 12 knots 17 000 km at 22 km h Complement8 officers 201 enlistedArmament3 single 3 in 76 mm 50 guns 1 twin 40 mm AA guns 8 single 20 mm AA guns 1 triple 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubes 8 depth charge projectors 1 depth charge projector hedgehog 2 depth charge tracks Contents 1 History 1 1 Battle of the Atlantic 1 1 1 Sinking of the German submarine U 515 1 1 2 Capturing the German submarine U 505 1 1 3 Sinking of German submarine U 546 1 2 End of war decommissioning 2 Awards 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditShe was named in honor of Hubert Paul Chatelain who was awarded a Silver Star posthumously for his valiant actions before he was killed in action 26 October 1942 during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Chatelain DE 149 was launched 21 April 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp of Orange Texas sponsored by Mrs L T Chatelain commissioned 22 September 1943 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet Battle of the Atlantic Edit Destined to play an important part in sweeping the Atlantic of German submarines Chatelain escorted two convoys from east coast ports to Derry and Gibraltar between 20 November 1943 and 7 March 1944 and was then assigned to operate as part of the hunter killer group formed around USS Guadalcanal CVE 60 During the last year of the European war while operating with the Guadalcanal group Chatelain joined in the sinking of two German submarines and the capture of a third Sinking of the German submarine U 515 Edit Her first action took place 9 April 1944 as her group sailed from Casablanca to the United States U 515 was detected when her radio transmissions were picked up and planes and ships of the task group pressed home a firm attack Chatelain forced the enemy submarine to the surface with two depth charge attacks then joined in the general firing at point blank range which followed sending U 515 to the bottom at 34 35 N 19 18 W 34 583 N 19 300 W 34 583 19 300 Capturing the German submarine U 505 Edit On 4 June 1944 Chatelain had the distinction of initiating one of the most dramatic incidents of the war when she made a sound contact and hurled a barrage of hedgehogs at a U boat A second attack by Chatelain this time with depth charges holed U 505 s outer hull and forced her to surface her crew jumping overboard as she broke water Now the task group seized its chance to carry out the boarding operation it had been planning for months for the first capture by Americans of an intact German submarine Successful in taking control of the submarine and executing the damage control that made its towing practicable the group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for this action Sinking of German submarine U 546 Edit In one of the last antisubmarine actions of the Atlantic war Chatelain took part in a 12 hour hunt for the submarine which had torpedoed USS Frederick C Davis DE 136 on 24 April 1945 Eight other ships joined her as the group again and again attacked U 546 sinking her finally at 43 53 N 40 07 W 43 883 N 40 117 W 43 883 40 117 End of war decommissioning Edit Chatelain had patrol and convoy escort duty as well as serving as plane guard during aviation exercises until 20 November 1945 when she arrived at Charleston South Carolina She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs Florida on 14 June 1946 Awards EditIn addition to the Presidential Unit Citation Chatelain received five battle stars for World War II service References EditThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Chatelain DE 149 NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive USS CHATELAIN DE 149 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Chatelain DE 149 amp oldid 1073413764, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
