USS Eldridge DE173 War Diary On Microfilm

Most books on the Philadelphia Experiment state; The Deck logs of the Eldridge for the period from the date of commission (Aug. 27th, 1943) to January 1st, 1944, were “missing,” and as of 2018 still are. However I was ale to option The Eldridge’s War Diary on microfilm in the early 80’s. The  / comments section of the log books are intact They include the date, location of the ship at 08:00, 12:00, 20:00, and hand written/signed notes every four hours. It was quite a long process to obtain the microfilm 30 years ago, and even more of a process to transfer the microfilm to print, and now a digital copy. Please think about Supporting this site if you like this content.

The Naval Department’s “official history” of the Eldridge states that the ship was one of four destroyer escorts of the Bostwick class constructed using the same plans. The Eldridge was built by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry-docks, Port Newark, New Jersey, and was launched on July 25, 1943. The ship was commissioned in the New York Navy Yard on August 27, 1943. The Eldridge’s shakedown cruise began early in September, finished on December 28th, and took place around Bermuda, British West Indies area. Between January 4th and May 9th, 1945 the Eldridge completed nine trips escorting convoys. The ship was decommissioned on June 17th 1946, and finally transferred to Greece under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, as one of four ships in U.S. Cannon class, to the Greek Navy on January 15th, 1951. The Eldridge was renamed the Léon.

Other Historical Documents About the USS Eldridge DE-173

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