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History

Overview

The USS Enright, Buckley-class Destroyer Escort was named for Lieutenant (junior grade) Robert P.F. Enright, USNR (United States Naval Reserve), Bradford, Pennsylvania, who was killed in action during the Battle of Midway on June 6, 1942.

 

Pre-Commissioning

She was christened (launched) at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (current photo   WWII photos) on May 29, 1943 as the Destroyer Escort 216 (DE-216).  Robert Enright's mother, Mrs. Katherine Enright christened the USS Enright, named in honor of her son.

More than a month before commissioning, a pre-commissioning detail had been assigned at Submarine Chaser Training Center (SCTC) Miami, Florida.  This group consisted of all the ship's prospective officers and the key enlisted men of a Destroyer Escort which was to be commissioned about six weeks hence.  This small group had the responsibility of molding together a hulk of steel and about 185 men into a fighting unit within the next three months.
 

Commissioning

The USS Enright was commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on September 21, 1943.  On the day of her commissioning, she was officially accepted by a representative of the Secretary of the Navy and turned over to Lieutenant Commander Adolfe Wildner, USN (United States Navy), her first Commanding Officer.

Shake-down Cruise

About ten days after commissioning, the USS Enright sailed for Bermuda (map) to undergo an intensive shake-down training period before joining the fleet.  This period consisted of all types of exercises including gunnery, anti-submarine warfare with live subs, emergency drills, towing, passing the mail, and numerous others.  Upon completion of her training period, the USS Enright was given a final military inspection. 

This shakedown cruise will be remembered by all hands as one of all work, and no play.  When the USS Enright sailed from Bermuda to join the Fleet she left behind her a good record.  During this shakedown period, the crew had changed from raw recruits to a fighting team.

Convoy Duty -- North Atlantic to Europe

Between November 15, 1943 and December 9, 1943 the USS Enright completed two trips as escort to Naval Station Argentia, in Argentia, Newfoundland (map ap).  Afterwards she reported for duty with Escort Division 17 (aka CortDiv 17) on December 12, 1943 when she sailed with her first trans-Atlantic convoy to Londonderry, Northern Ireland (map).  The crew was eager to kill a German submarine.  Numerous stories were circulated about the ship of how wolf packs of German submarines were expected to intercept the convoy.  The trip however, was uneventful.

On March 9, 1944, Lieutenant Commander Ejnar Carl Hoglund, USNR, relieved Commander Adolfe Wildner, USN as the Commanding Officer.


Collision with Portuguese Freighter in the North Atlantic

The second trip across in March 1944 was very similar to the first, but the USS Enright's third trip home from Londonderry, she suffered her first tragedy.  On April 16, 1944, she was ordered out from the anti-submarine screen to intercept an unidentified ship and divert it from the convoy. 

A thick fog reduced visibility to about 500 yards.  At 0906 the USS Enright collided with a Portuguese freighter, the S. Thome (English translation "Saint Thomas").  After the collision, the USS Burke (DE-215) and the USS Weber (DE-675) came to the aid of the USS Enright.  Only slight damage was sustained by the freighter, but the USS Enright was crippled with a 9 degree list to port, a 65-foot hole in her port quarter, with all living compartments flooded.  As a result of the collision, a crew member of the USS Enright, Carl Augustus Mims, SF3/c USN, was lost at sea.  The USS Enright sailed into New York and entered the Brooklyn Navy Yard (ap) on April 17, 1944.  It required thirty days of Navy Yard availability to get her repaired and ready for sea again.


Return to Convoy Duty -- North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, Europe, & North Africa

On May 18, 1944, the USS Enright completed her repairs and proceeded to New London, Connecticut (map) for training with submarines.  On June 15, 1944, she returned to New York and rejoined Escort Division Seventeen.  On this date, Lieutenant Commander John Howard Church, USNR, relieved Lieutenant Commander Ejnar Carl Hoglund, USNR, as the Commanding Officer.

Under Lieutenant Commander John H. Church, USNR, the USS Enright made one trip to Londonderry and on July 21, 1944 Lieutenant Commander A.B. Bradley, Jr., USNR, took command.

During the summer and fall of 1944, the USS Enright made a round trip to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, one to Cherbourg, France (map), and one to Oran, Algeria (map).  It was on this trip through the Mediterranean Sea (map) when she traveled with her largest convoy of approximately 100 ships.  This trip was completed on December 2, 1944.


Training with submarines & ship's conversion to 'High Speed Transport'

On December 8, 1944, she once more departed for New London, Connecticut and spent about six weeks there training newly commissioned submarines.  At the end of this period she departed for the Boston Navy Yard Annex, Boston Massachusetts (map).  Here on January 21, 1945, her classification was officially changed from Destroyer Escort (DE-216) to Auxiliary High Speed Transport (APD-66) and she commenced undergoing conversion.  Among her modifications, the USS Enright now carried four amphibious landing craft.  These landing craft known as Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (aka Higgins boats) are identical to those used for the beach invasion of Normandy, France on D-Day.

During conversion on March 3, 1945, Lieutenant William F. Folkes, Jr., USNR, relieved Lieutenant Commander A.B. Bradley, Jr., USNR, as the Commanding Officer.
 

Headed for South Pacific Ocean

On March 28, 1945, the USS Enright (APD-66), completely converted, left Boston for Norfolk, Virginia (map), where she went through a very short shake-down training period before departing Norfolk for the Pacific Ocean Area on April 7, 1945.  On her way south, the ship stopped at Miami, Florida where she was detailed to transport a Naval Air Unit to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (map), her first assignment in her new classification.  The USS Enright was in port at Guantanamo Bay when President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945.

After leaving Cuba, the USS Enright proceeded straight through the Panama Canal (map) and up the West Coast to San Diego, California (map). 

 

Hawaii to train with Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT)

On April 28, 1945, she left the continental United States for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (map).  The USS Enright and her main than spent three weeks in the vicinity of the Islands of Oahu and Maui undergoing intensive training with UDTs (Underwater Demolition Teams), the precursor to the modern-day Navy SEALs.

The UDTs were training to be among the initial forces to the beaches during the planned Invasion of Japan, scheduled to begin in the Oct-Nov 1945 timeframe.  These Underwater Demolition Teams were to launch from the USS Enright using the four Higgins Boats which were installed on the USS Enright during the conversion from a Destroyer Escort (DE) to an Auxiliary High Speed Transport (APD) in Boston, MA in January 1945.

On May 7, 1945, the USS Enright was in port at Pearl Harbor when Germany surrendered (V-E Day, i.e. Victory in Europe Day) ending the war in Europe.  On May 16, 1945, the USS Enright sailed around the Hawaiian Islands. 

 

Caroline and Marshall Islands

On May 20, 1945, the USS Enright shoved off from Pearl Harbor for Ulithi (map) in the Caroline Islands.  Along the way, on May 28, 1945 the USS Enright anchored at Eniwetok (map) in the Marshall Islands and refueled.  On May 29 she left Eniwetok for Ulithi.  On June 2, she anchored at Ulithi for refueling and to bring on supplies.


Battle for Okinawa

On June 7 the USS Enright left Ulithi for Okinawa (map) and reported there for duty on June 11, 1945.  It was here that many of the officers and men came face-to-face with the enemy for the first time, being part of the Battle for Okinawa.

From June 11 to July 1, 1945, the USS Enright served as part of a naval blockade which formed an anti-submarine screen around Okinawa's west and east coasts as well as the Kerama Retto Islands, near Okinawa.  Rings of ships circled the Okinawa at radii of five, ten and fifteen miles.  The men could watch the battles on Okinawa, especially during the nighttime hours.  The ship was at General Quarters frequently.  On June 21, the men of the USS Enright witnessed an enemy plane being shot down.  On the night of June 28, 1945 the USS Enright was attacked by a Japanese aircraft, and narrowly escaped being hit by four bombs.  After the four bombs were dropped, they fortunately straddled the ship, and exploded upon impact with the ocean.


Philippine Islands & Borneo

On July 1, 1945, the USS Enright was ordered to report to the Commander Philippine Sea Frontier and left Okinawa for Leyte, Philippines (map) where she arrived and reported on July 8, 1945.  On July 9, 1945, the ship left for Okinawa again as escort for a convoy.  On July 11, the USS Enright's sonar detected a submarine and dropped five depth charges, with no results.  Upon arrival in Okinawa on July 12, she was again assigned to duty in an anti-submarine screen.

The USS Enright left Okinawa and arrived in Leyte on July 21, 1945.  Afterwards she sailed to and anchored near Calicoan Island, Philippines (map) and Tolosa, Leyte, Philippines on July 29. 

The USS Enright then began the first of two mail ship runs.  During her first run she arrived in:

On August 7, 1945, between the two mail runs, Captain John A. Glick, USN, reported aboard as the Commander Transport Division 110, thus making the USS Enright the flagship of Transport Division 110. 

On her second mail ship run, the USS Enright arrived in:

  • Cebu, Philippines on August 10
  • Iloilo, Philippines on August 11
  • Puerto Princesa, Philippines on August 12
  • Brunei Bay, Borneo on August 13
  • Zamboanga, Philippines on August 15

The USS Enright was in port in Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines when Japan surrendered (V-J Day) ending World War II on August 15, 1945.

The USS Enright arrived in Madajarda Bay and Calicoan on August 16, and in Leyte, Philippines on August 17. 

On August 21 she was underway to serve as en escort to a supply convoy.  She sighted the convoy about 250 miles from Tokyo on August 27.  On August 29 the USS Enright sailed for Leyte and arrived on September 2.  By September 7 she was underway for Manila, Philippines where she arrived on September 9, 1945.


Japan

On September 10, the USS Enright was underway for Tokyo Bay, Honshu Island, Japan where she anchored on September 17, about two weeks after V-J Day. 

On September 18, a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) hit the USS Enright's fantail six times, there were no casualties.  On September 19, she anchored on the outskirts of Yokohama, in Tokyo Bay.  On September 20, the USS Enright traveled 180 miles to the north up Honshu's east coast to Shiogama, Japan were she arrived on September 21.

The USS Enright arrived in Ominipo, Japan on October 1 and Sendai, Japan on October 3, 1945, both on Japan's main island of Honshu.  The ship arrived back in Ominipo on October 4 and back to Tokyo Bay, where she anchored on October 9, 1945.  On October 18, then men of the USS Enright had liberty in the bomb-devastated city of Tokyo.  While operating in and around Japan, the ship was under the command of the Commander Third Amphibious Force.


Philippine Islands, China, & Japan

On October 26, 1945, the USS Enright was ordered back to the Commander Philippine Sea Frontier after receiving a "Well Done" from the Commander Third Amphibious Force. 

She arrived in Manila, Philippines on October 31.  On November 13, 1945 the USS Enright arrived on the Philippine Island of Samar in order to pick up passengers. 

She was underway with a full load of officers and enlisted men for Shanghai, China on November 17.  While underway she sank two floating mines on November 20, then arrived in Shanghai, China (map) on November 21 where her passengers disembarked.  On November 25 the USS Enright departed the Whangpoo (Huangpu) River in Shanghai with more passengers and arrived on the island of Okinawa, Japan on November 27 where the passengers departed from the ship.  The next day she departed Okinawa with new passengers, bound for Manila, were she arrived on December 1, 1945.


Return to Atlantic seaboard via Hawaii, San Diego & Panama Canal

On December 2, 1945, the ship was ordered back to the USA and left Manila on that date with a full load of passengers, arriving in Eniwetok, on December 10 where she refueled. 

The USS Enright arrived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands on December 16 and departed from there on December 19.  She arrived in San Diego, California on December 25 and departed on December 28. 

The ship docked in Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, then went through the Panama Canal on January 5, 1946.  She left the Canal Zone the next day bound for Norfolk, Virginia, where the USS Enright arrived on January 11, 1946.
 

 

Decommissioning & Atlantic Reserve Fleet

The USS Enright was decommissioned and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group at Green Cove Springs, Florida on June 21, 1946. 

 

Transfer to Ecuador

On July 14 1967, after 21 years in the US Atlantic Reserve Fleet, the USS Enright was transferred to the Navy of Ecuador

She was modified to carry a helicopter and was renamed Veinticinco de Julio (English translation "25th of July").  Her hull number was changed to E12.  

In 1976-1977 she was once again renamed as the frigate Moran Valverde (hull number D-01).  Her hull number was changed to DD-03, then DD-02.

The ship was purchased outright by Ecuador on August 30, 1978.  In 1989, after over 45 years of service to both the USA and Ecuador, she was dismantled, with her metal parts reclaimed.

 

 

 

Information courtesy of the personal diary of Ivan McCombs,  USS Enright sailor and "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships" (1969).


Key:

  • m: map

  • ap: aerial photo



     


 

 

 

  

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