USS Strickland (DE-333)

• Namesake: USS Strickland (DE-333) was named in honor of Ensign Everett C. Strickland, a U.S. Navy aviator who was killed in action during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. • Class and Type: She was an Edsall-class destroyer escort, designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare and convoy escort duties. • Commissioning Date: USS Strickland was commissioned on 10 January 1944 at Orange, Texas. • World War II Service: Throughout World War II, Strickland was assigned to convoy escort missions across the Atlantic, protecting supply ships from German U-boats. • Convoy UGS-40: In May 1944, she participated in the defense of Convoy UGS-40, which came under heavy attack by German aircraft off the coast of Algeria, successfully repelling the raid without losing any ships. • Post-War Service: After the war, Strickland served as a weather ship and participated in training exercises before being decommissioned in 1946. • Recommissioned for the Cold War: In 1952, the ship was recommissioned as a radar picket ship (DER-333) to serve in the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line as part of the North American air defense system. • Operation Market Time: While assigned as a radar picket, Strickland also participated in Operation Market Time, a mission to prevent the infiltration of arms and supplies to Viet Cong forces by sea. • Final Decommissioning: USS Strickland was decommissioned for the last time in 1960 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1974. • Legacy: Strickland earned one battle star for her World War II service and was remembered for her adaptability, serving both as an escort and an early warning radar ship during two different eras of naval warfare.