Greek destroyer Leon (D54)

	USS Eldridge (DE-173) ca. 1944
History
United States
Name	Eldridge
Namesake	John Eldridge Jr.
Ordered	1942
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newark, New Jersey
Laid down	22 February 1943
Launched	25 July 1943
Commissioned	27 August 1943
Decommissioned	17 June 1946
Stricken	26 March 1951
Fate	Sold to Greece, 15 January 1951
Greece
Name	Leon
Acquired	15 January 1951
Decommissioned	15 November 1992
Fate	Sold for scrap, 11 November 1999
General characteristics
Class and type	Cannon-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,240 long tons (1,260 t) standard; 1,620 long tons (1,646 t) full;
Length	306 ft (93 m) o/a; 300 ft (91 m) w/l;
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draft	11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Propulsion	4 × GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2 screws
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	15 officers and 201 enlisted
Armament	3 × single Mk.22 3"/50 caliber guns; 1 × twin 40 mm Mk.1 AA gun; 8 × 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns; 3 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 1 × Hedgehog Mk.10 anti-submarine mortar (144 rounds); 8 × Mk.6 depth charge projectors; 2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracks;

Leon (D54) (Greek: Α/Τ Λέων, "Lion") was a Cannon-class destroyer that served with the Greek Navy between 1951 and 1992. The ship had formerly served with the United States Navy under the name USS Eldridge (DE-173), famous for its alleged role in the Philadelphia Experiment.

Service history

Leon was transferred to Greece under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. It was put to service in January 1951 by Vice Admiral D. Foifas. She was used mainly for patrols in the Eastern Aegean Sea and for cadet officer (midshipmen) training.^[1]

Leon was decommissioned on November 15. 1992 and later in November 1999 it was sold as scrap to the Piraeus-based V&J Scrapmetal Trading Ltd.^[2]

Sister ships

Leon belonged to a group of four Cannon-class destroyers that were transferred to the Greek Navy in 1951. The other three were Ierax (D31) (Greek: Ιέραξ, "Hawk"), Aetos (D01) (Greek: Άετός, "Eagle") and Panthir (D67) (Greek: Πάνθηρ, "Panther"), affectionately known as the Thiria (Greek: Θηρία, "Beasts").

References

^ Vice Admiral C. Paizis-Paradellis, HN (2002). Hellenic Warships 1829–2001 (3rd ed.). Athens, Greece: The Society for the study of Greek History. p. 111. ISBN 960-8172-14-4.
^ "Leon D-54 (1951-1992)". Hellenic Navy. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-09-01.

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[1] Vice Admiral C. Paizis-Paradellis, HN (2002). Hellenic Warships 1829–2001 (3rd ed.). Athens, Greece: The Society for the study of Greek History. p. 111. ISBN 960-8172-14-4.

[2] "Leon D-54 (1951-1992)". Hellenic Navy. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-09-01.

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