Allied Warships

USS Ellet (DD 398)

Destroyer of the Benham class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Benham
Pennant	DD 398
Built by	Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (Kearny, New Jersey, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	3 Dec 1936
Launched	11 Jun 1938
Commissioned	17 Feb 1939
End service	29 Oct 1945
History	Decommissioned 29 October 1945. Stricken 13 November 1945. Sold 1 August 1947 and broken up for scrap.

Commands listed for USS Ellet (DD 398)

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	Commander	From	To
1	Lt.Cdr. Francis James Mee, USN	17 Feb 1939	22 Jun 1941 (1)
2	Lt.Cdr. Francis Hartt Gardner, USN	22 Jun 1941	22 Jan 1943 (1)
3	T/Cdr. James Dickson Whitfield, Jr., USN	22 Jan 1943	27 May 1943
4	T/Cdr. Thomas Carson Phifer, USN	27 May 1943	10 Mar 1944 (1)
5	T/Cdr. Eugene Carter Rider, USN	10 Mar 1944	21 Jan 1945
6	James Robert Banks, USN	21 Jan 1945	29 Oct 1945

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Notable events involving Ellet include:

9 Aug 1942
Following an engagement with Japanese naval forces 9 August 1942 off Savo Island, Ellet rescued 509 enlisted men & 41 officers from oil covered shark infested waters during darkness and adverse weather conditions from the cruiser USS Quincy and one sailor from the cruiser USS Astoria, both ships having been sunk in the cited engagement. (2)

30 Nov 1944
USS Caiman (Cdr. F.C. Lucas, Jr., USN) conducted exercises off Saipan together with USS Ellet (Cdr. E.C. Rider, USN).

1 Dec 1944
USS Caiman (Cdr. F.C. Lucas, Jr., USN) conducted exercises off Saipan together with USS Cassin (Cdr. V.J. Meola, USN), USS Ellet (Cdr. E.C. Rider, USN) and USS Grayson (Cdr. W.V. Pratt, III, USN).

2 Dec 1944
USS Caiman (Cdr. F.C. Lucas, Jr., USN) conducted exercises off Saipan together with USS Cassin (Cdr. V.J. Meola, USN), USS Ellet (Cdr. E.C. Rider, USN) and USS Grayson (Cdr. W.V. Pratt, III, USN).