The Destroyer Escort Museum on the Albany, New York waterfront is home to
the USS Slater, one of three surviving WWII Destroyer Escorts out of nearly
600 built. Of the three survivors, the Slater is one of two in the US, and
the only one still afloat in the US. The Museum is currently open
for three seasons of the year, closing for the winter when it moves
across the river to the Port of Rensselaer.
The Slater is in serious need of a drydocking for replacement of
hull plating; a fundraising effort is in progress for this.
Approximately 1/3 of the necessary funds have been raised to date.
',
visitorsNotes=>'
The museum is located on Broadway in Albany, where Broadway passes
under I-787 towards the Port of Albany.
There is a small gift shop where tickets may be purchased.
The museum is fairly unusual among historic ship museums
in having a standard guided tour which currently runs about a hour
and a half.
The tour includes the top side areas, and the forward berthing and
mess areas.
The restoration of the B-3 Engine Room and B-4 Motor Room is ongoing,
but currently these spaces are not on the standard tour.
Likewise, an extensive display of artifacts relating to DEs and WWII
in the rear berthing spaces is currently closed.
This is due to staffing constraints, and the museum is currently looking
at options that would permit access. This would likely take the form
of an extended tour for an additional fee.
One other unique aspect of the Slater is that its 3 inch guns can
still be fired. The US Navy normally disables guns on ships being
given to museums, but the Slater was acquired from the Greek Navy.
The guns may be fired (blank rounds only) for ceremonies during the year.
',
vnDisabled=>'
The gift shop, classroom and deck overlooking the ship
are wheelchair accessible but
the ship itself is not.
',
vnFoodServices=>'
The museum offers no food services but a snack bar named "The Aegean"
is located on the property a short distance to the south.
',
backgroundNote=>'
The Slater is a Cannon Class Destroyer Escort, serving in both the Atlantic
and Pacific theaters in 1944 and 1945. The ship is named for Frank O. Slater,
a seaman who was killed on the USS San Francisco on the first night of
the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942.
Slater was decomissioned in 1947, and transfered to the Greek Navy in 1951,
serving under the name Aetos (Eagle).
She was stricken from the Greek Navy in 1991 and slated for scrapping.
In 1993 the board of the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
voted to create the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum, charging the
Museum with locating a suitable DE for the Museum.
The Slater (Aetos) was located and funds were raised to bring the
ship back to the US. The Slater spent 4 years at the Intrepid Museum
in New York City before being brought north to Albany in 1997.
The ship was in very rough shape when the Museum took it over,
and much energy has been applied to restoration over the past 20 years.
Much of the ship now looks very much like it did in 1944-1945.
',
galleryLink=>'SlaterGallery.html',
googleMapLink=>'http://maps.google.com/maps?q=USS+Slater,+Albany+NY&hl=en&ll=42.642433,-73.750014&spn=0.00134,0.002816&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.946584,92.285156&t=h&hq=USS+Slater,+Albany+NY&z=19',
mapService=>'MapQuest',
searchStreetAddr=>'141 Broadway',
searchCity=>'Albany',
searchState=>'NY',
searchZip=>'12202',
searchCountry=>'us',
timeZone=>'EST/EDT (-0500/-0400)',
latitude=>'42.6420',
longitude=>'73.7504',
elevation=>'10 feet',
&>
<%init>
my @campaigns = ['Battle of the Atlantic'];
my @websites =
[ { url=>'http://www.ussslater.org',
text=>'Destroyer Escort Historical Museum',},
{ url=>'http://www.desausa.org/',
text=>'Destroyer Escort Sailors Association',},
{ url=>'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Slater_(DE-766)',
text=>'USS Slater (Wikipedia)',},
{ url=>'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_class_destroyer_escort',
text=>'Cannon Class Destroyer Escort (Wikipedia)',}
];
my @references =
[ { publication=>'DestroyerOperations',
pages=>'551'
},
];
my @books =
[ 'Destroyer Escort',
];