USS Hurst (DE-250)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Hurst.

History
United States
NameUSS Hurst (DE-250)
NamesakeEdwin William Hurst
BuilderBrown Shipbuilding Houston, Texas
Laid down27 January 1943
Launched14 April 1943
Sponsored byMrs. Jeanette Harris Hurst
Commissioned30 August 1943
Decommissioned1 May 1946
Stricken1 December 1972
Fatetransferred to Mexican Navy, 1 October 1973.
Mexico
NameARM Commodore Manuel Azueta (A06)[1]
NamesakeManuel Azueta
Acquired1 October 1973
Renamed
  • ARM Commodore Manuel Azueta Perillos (E30), 1994[1]
  • ARM Commodore Manuel Azueta (D111), 2001[1]
Decommissioned3 July 2015
FateSunk as an artificial reef, 6 November 2017
General characteristics
Class and typeEdsall-class destroyer escort
Displacement
  • 1,253 tons standard
  • 1,590 tons full load
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam36.58 ft (11.15 m)
Draft10.42 ft (3.18 m) full load
Propulsion
Speed21 knots (39 km/h)
Complement8 officers, 201 enlisted
Armament

USS Hurst (DE-250) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. The ship served in both the Atlantic and the Pacific and was decommissioned in May 1946 and placed in reserve for the next 27 years.

In October 1973, the former Hurst was acquired by the

training vessel for Mexico's Gulf Fleet. She was decommissioned in 2015 and sunk as an artificial reef in November 2017.[2]

Namesake

Edwin William Hurst was born on 16 October 1910 at

U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD from which he graduated in 1932. After serving on the USS Tennessee for two years, in 1934 he received orders to report to aviation flight training in Pensacola, FL. He earned his wings in 1935 and in that year he married the former Marian Jeannette Harris, also of Sioux Falls. He was then assigned to Scout Bombing Squadron 3 aboard the USS Saratoga. He was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School in 1939 and completed its course in Ordnance & Gunnery. In May 1941 he reported to Torpedo Squadron 2 aboard USS Lexington
to assume the duties of Squadron Executive Officer.

In March 1942, flying his Douglas TBD Devastator he took part in the Salamaua–Lae Raid against Japanese shipping, for his actions on the mission, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. During the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May 1942, he attacked the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō and his torpedo contributed to that ship's sinking. The following day his squadron flew against the fleet carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku. He was credited with pressing home an accurate attack through withering antiaircraft fire to deliver his torpedo against the hull of the Shōkaku, however the torpedo malfunctioned and failed to detonate. Nevertheless, in recognition of his skill and gallantry, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Neither award was processed and approved before his death, so both were actually awarded posthumously.[3]

With the Lexington sunk during the battle, Hurst was sent to

Whenuapai Air Base
, New Zealand.

U.S. Navy career

She was

ship's namesake
; and commissioned 30 August 1943.

Hurst departed Houston 3 September and after a short period of outfitting at Galveston, Texas, sailed 12 September for shakedown training off Bermuda. After returning briefly to Charleston, South Carolina, in November and screening a convoy to the Caribbean, Hurst arrived Norfolk, Virginia, 29 November 1943 to join Escort Division 20.

Assigned to protect ocean commerce from

Lisahally, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland
, 5 March 1944, and one week later returned to New York with another convoy.

Hurst made no less than 10 more escort voyages from

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
.

Reassigned to the Pacific Fleet for these last months of the war, she transited the

Pago Pago 25 September, Hurst spent the next weeks steaming among the small outlying islands of the Samoan, Fiji, and Society and other island groups, sending parties ashore to search for missing personnel and to investigate possible remaining enemy units. Completing this duty she departed Pago Pago 3 November 1945 and sailed for San Diego via Pearl Harbor. She arrived at San Diego on 23 November and sailed two days later for New York via the Panama Canal
.

Hurst entered New York harbor 10 December 1945, sailed to

Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs. In January 1947 Hurst was transferred to Orange, Texas. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1972. On 1 October 1973, Hurst was transferred to the Mexican Navy
.

Mexican Navy career

The former Hurst was acquired by the

3-inch (76 mm) Mark 26 guns. In addition, the superfiring 3-inch gun forward was replaced with a quadruple 40 mm AA mount. By 1998, however, the original armament had been restored.[1]

In 2001, the ship reverted to her original Mexican Navy name of Commodoro Manuel Azueta, was reclassed as a

gun directors were removed.[1] On 3 July 2015 she was decommissioned by the Mexican Navy at Veracruz, making her the last of the class to be retired from service worldwide. Commodoro Manuel Azueta was subsequently stripped and all contaminants were removed prior to disposal as an artificial reef.[2] She was scuttled on 6 November 2017 in the Rizo reef zone off Antón Lizardo, Veracruz.[4]

References

  1. ^
    OCLC 140283156
    .
  2. ^ a b Vela, Anabel (5 November 2017). "Así prepararon buque "Manuel Azueta" para hundirlo frente a Antón Lizardo". xeu Noticias (in Spanish). Veracruz, Mexico. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Granddaughter Will Christen New Escort". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Vol. 61, no. 75 (City Final ed.). Cedar Rapids, Iowa: John L. Miller. 25 March 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 20 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "ARM Commodoro Manuel Azueta SINKEX". Twitter. Retrieved 9 November 2017.

External links

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