USS
Slater was
laid down on 9 March 1943, she was christened on 20 Feb 1944 by Lenora Slater, mother of Frank Olga Slater and
launched on 13 February 1944. The ship was
commissioned on 1 May 1944. She was built at the Tampa Shipbuilding Company in
Tampa, Florida for an estimated cost of $3,399,000 (adjusted for inflation, roughly $54,777,341.00 in 2022). After a shakedown cruise near
Bermuda in June 1944,
Slater assisted with the transfer of torpedoes from the captured German submarine
U-505, from Bermuda to Maryland. She was then sent to
Key West where she served as a sonar school ship. On 3 October 1944,
Slater reported for convoy duty in Brooklyn, New York; she would spend the next 7 months alternating between convoy duty and additional training in Portland, Maine. By the end of the war in Europe,
Slater escorted a total of five convoys to the
United Kingdom, listed below: In June 1945
Slater headed for the Pacific, stopping at the
US Virgin Islands,
Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and
Coco Solo, Panama. She went through the
Panama Canal on 28 June 1945 and stopped at
San Diego before sailing to
Pearl Harbor. From there she joined Task Unit 33.2.4 at
Manila in September and escorted it to
Yokohama.
Slater engaged in support operations in the Pacific through the remainder of the year. She made another passage through the Canal on her way to
Norfolk for deactivation.
Slater was placed in the reserve fleet at
Green Cove Springs, Florida in 1947.
Greek service On 1 March 1951,
Slater was transferred to the
Hellenic Navy under the
Truman Doctrine, and renamed
Aetos ("Eagle") (D01). Along with three other
Cannon-class ships, she made up what was known as the "Wild Beasts" Flotilla. The ship did patrol duty in the eastern
Aegean and the
Dodecanese and also served as a training vessel for naval cadets.
Aetos was decommissioned in 1991, and
Greece donated the ship to the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association.
Museum ship Destroyer escort sailors from around the nation donated more than $250,000 ($ today) to bring
Slater back to the United States as a museum ship. In 1993, a Russian ocean-going tugboat towed the ship from
Crete to
New York City, where it was docked next to the
aircraft carrier . Volunteers began restoring the ship and seeking a permanent home for her; Albany, New York, was decided upon. On 26 October 1997,
Slater arrived at the
Port of Albany. In January 2006, a welder accidentally started a fire aboard
Slater which caused some minor damage to the ship. Repairs were completed within a few months. Restoration of the ship remains an ongoing project. On 7 May 1998,
Slater was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Slater was refitted several times during her long service with two navies. One of her depth-charge racks and four "K-gun" depth charge launchers have been removed. Two twin
Bofors 40 mm guns have been added, and the ten single
20 mm guns have been replaced with nine twin mounts. ==Appearances in film==