Cannon-class destroyer escort

The Cannon class was a class of destroyer escorts built by the United States primarily for antisubmarine warfare and convoy escort service during World War II. The lead ship, USS Cannon, was commissioned on 26 September 1943 at Wilmington, Delaware. Of the 116 ships ordered, 44 were cancelled and six were commissioned directly into the Free French Forces. Destroyer escorts were regular companions escorting vulnerable cargo ships.
HTMS Pin Klao (DE-413) was the last ship of the class to retire from active service after she was decommissioned from the Royal Thai Navy on 10 September 2025.

Propulsion

The class was also known as the DET type from their diesel electric tandem drives. The propulsion system of the was identical. The DET's substitution for a turboelectric propulsion plant was the primary difference with the predecessor class. The DET was, in turn, replaced with a direct-drive diesel plant to yield the design of the successor class.

Hull numbers

A total of 72 ships of the Cannon class were built.

DE-99 through DE-113
DE-162 through DE-197
DE-739 through DE-750
DE-763 through DE-771

Wartime transfers

During World War II, six ships of the class were earmarked for the Free French Naval Forces and a further eight were transferred the Brazilian Navy.

Free French ships

as Sénégalais
as Algérien
as Tunisien
as Marocain
as Hova
as ''Somali''

Transferred to Brazil

as Babitonga
as Baependi
as Benevente
as Beberibe
as Bocaina
as Bauru - now a museum ship in Rio de Janeiro
as Bertioga
as ''Bracui''

Postwar dispersal

After the end of World War II, the United States Navy transferred many ships of the Cannon class to other navies.

Transferred to France

as Malgache ; served 1952-1969
as Touareg ; served 1950-1960
as Soudanais ; served 1950-1959
as Berbère ; served 1952-1960
as Kabyle ; served 1950-1959
as Arabe ; served 1950-1968
as Bambara ; served 1950-1959
as Sakalave ; served 1950-1960

Transferred to Greece

as Leon; served 1951–1992
as Aetos; served 1951–1991; now a museum ship in Albany, New York, the only destroyer escort afloat in the United States
as Ierax ; served 1951–1991
as Panthir; served 1951–1992

Transferred to Italy

as Andromeda 1951; scrapped in 1972
as Aldebaran 1951; scrapped in 1976
as Altair 1951; stricken and sunk as target in 1971

Transferred to Japan

as Asahi 1955–75
as Hatsuhi 1955–75

Transferred to the Netherlands

as Van Amstel 1950
as Bitter 1950
as Van Ewijck 1950
as Dubois 1950
as Zeeuw 1950
as van Zijll 1950

Transferred to Peru

as BAP Castilla; served 1951–1979
as BAP Aguirre; served 1951–1974
as BAP Rodríguez; served 1951–1979

Transferred to the Philippines

as BRP Datu Sikatuna (PF-5); scrapped in 1989
as BRP Rajah Humabon (PF-11); retired in 2018; possibly scrapped after capsizing in a typhoon in 2022
as BRP Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76); sunk during a typhoon in 1981
—cannibalized for parts
—cannibalized for parts

Transferred to South Korea

as ROKN Kyong Ki ; served 1956–1977
as ROKN Kang Won ; served 1956–1977

Transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan)

as ROCN Taihe
as ROCN Taicang
as ROCN Taihu
as ROCN ''Taizhao''

Transferred to Thailand

as HTMS Pin Klao ; served 1959–2025

Transferred to Uruguay

as Uruguay ; served 1952–1990
as Artigas ; served 1952–1988