USS Eldridge (DE-173)
Eldridge was a Cannon-class destroyer escort ship of the United States Navy, it is widely known as the ship of the "Philadelphia Experiment" (also referred to as Project Rainbow). The USS Eldridge, named after Lieutenant Commander Eldridge, was launched on the 25th of July 1943 and commissioned on the 27th of August 1943. It was later placed out of commission in reserve on the 17th of June 1946. On the 15th of January 1951, the USS Eldridge was transferred under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act to Greece, where it served as the HS Leon (D-54). The Leon was decommissioned on the 5th of November 1992. Lieutenant Commander Eldridge, after whom the USS Eldridge was named, was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, on the 10th of October 1903. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927. Following flight training in Pensacola, Florida, he served in various aviation roles. From the 11th of September 1941, he commanded Scouting Squadron 71, attached to the Was...
