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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Elden (DE 264)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - D - W - G

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 6 stars - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal

Specifications:
Class: Evarts
Type: GMT (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1,140 tons (light), 1,430 tons (full)
Length: 283' 6" (wl), 289' 5" (oa)
Beam: 35' 0" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 19 kts
Range: 4,150 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 3 - 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 - 1.1"/75 cal. Mk2 quad AA (4x1), 9 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks
Complement: 15 / 183

Elden (DE 264) Building and Operational Data:

23 February 1943: Keel laid by the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass.

06 April 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Elden, widow of Lieutenant Elden

04 August 1943: Commissioned in a short ceremony (16:35 to 16:45) at the Boston Navy Yard, Lcdr. G. F. Adams, USNR, in command

18 January 1946: Decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard after 2 years and 5½ months of service

07 February 1946: Struck from the NVR

12 July 1947: Sold, scrapped

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0626401	7k	Ralph Waldo Elden (10 July 1907 - 06 June 1942) was born in New York, N.Y. and attended Oregon State for one year, 1927, as an engineering student. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1931 and began a distinguished military career that would end in tragedy on 06 June 1942, at the Battle of Midway. At the time of his death Lieutenant Elden was serving as executive officer of USS *Hammann* (DD 412). During the Battle of Midway, 06 June 1942, when his commanding officer was wounded, he took charge and directed abandonment of his disabled and rapidly sinking destroyer until the decks were awash. He was killed in the water by an underwater explosion. For gallant and efficient performance of duty, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. USS *Elden* (DE 264) (1943-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo from the Oregon State University Alumni Association)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal.
0626402	20k	undated wartime image	Jerry Church
0626403	179k	24 May 1945: San Francisco, Cal. - Two views of USS *Elden* (DE 264) at the Hunter's Point Naval dry-docks, San Francisco, California. Circles mark recent alterations. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photos #NH 91595 and NH 91596, courtesy of A.D. Baker III, from the Naval History and Heritage Command)	Mike Green Port Angeles, Wash.
0626404	201k		Mike Green Port Angeles, Wash.

Elden History
View the USS Elden (DE 264) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View a short article on the design and development of the Evarts Class DE submitted by Bob Sables.
View the official War History of USS Elden as submitted by the ship at war's end.

Elden's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 04 Aug. 1943 - 03 Mar. 1944	Lcdr. George F. Adams, USNR
2.) 03 Mar. 1944 - 28 Nov. 1944	Lcdr. Frederick Charles Hartman, Jr., USNR
3.) 28 Nov. 1944 - 19 Jan. 1945	Lt. Carl Elton Snedeker, USNR (Jamesburg, N.J.)
4.) 19 Jan. 1945 - 26 Oct. 1945	Lcdr. Jesse Frank Doubleday, USNR (USCGA '35)
5.) 26 Oct. 1945 - 18 Jan. 1946	Lcdr. Leo Miller, USNR (Boston, Mass.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

None

Note About Contacts

Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

Additional Resources

Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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