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USS Blair (DE-147) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She was named in honor of Chief Machinist’s Mate Eugene Blair, who was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his brave actions when his ship was attacked and bombed by Japanese planes near Port Darwin, Australia, in mid-February 1942. ''Blair (DE-147)'' was laid down on 19 January 1943 at Orange, Texas, by the Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched on 6 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Vestie Foster, the mother of three sons in the United States Navy; and commissioned at Orange, Lt. Alden J. Laborde, USNR, in command. ==World War II Atlantic operations== ''Blair'' conducted shakedown training out of Bermuda before clearing those waters on 2 November in company with USS Pennewill (DE-175). After escorting the oiler USS Kennebec (AO-36) to Bermuda, the new destroyer escort sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, where, on 7 November, the ship's SA radar was removed and DAQ HFDF (High Frequency Direction Finding, or "Huff Duff") equipment was installed. Departing Charleston on 14 November, ''Blair'' reached New York on 16 November. After shifting to New London, Connecticut, for exercises, she returned to Staten Island, New York, briefly before departing New York in a convoy bound for Hampton Roads, Virginia. From there, the ship helped to screen Convoy UGS-25 to North Africa. Relieved of escort duties on 11 December, she put into Casablanca the same day; but tarried only briefly before heading home with GUS-24 on 18 December. She escorted the Norfolk, Virginia, and Delaware sections of GUS-24 to Chesapeake Bay on New Year's Day 1944. ''Blair'' then sailed to New York for upkeep. After refresher training at Casco Bay, Maine, the warship returned to Chesapeake Bay to join a "hunter killer" force that embarked on its mission on 24 January 1944. While crossing the Atlantic, she stopped briefly at Horta, in the Azores, to transfer her commanding officer to USS Livermore (DD-429) for medical treatment. He re-embarked as the two ships were catching up with their task group, task group TG 21.14, which they rejoined on 15 February. The group reached North African waters five days later. For the next few months, ''Blair'' crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic, screening convoys to the United Kingdom, making a total of 10 round trip voyages between the east coast of the United States and the ports of Londonderry, Northern Ireland; Liverpool, England; and Cherbourg, France; also frequenting Portland, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, England. On several occasions, suspicious contacts prompted the ship to drop depth charges and make "hedgehog" attacks, but none of her targets proved to be a submarine. During her first cycle in 1945, she was detached from her convoy (UC-51B) to stand by the Army artillery transport Lakehurst (formerly APM-9) as she labored across the Atlantic, "having difficulty with improperly secured locomotives...." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Blair (DE-147)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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