destroyer escort 指的到底是 "護航艦" 還是 "驅逐艦"？

把這個複合名詞拆開來看，destoryer 指 "破壞者；驅逐艦"，escort 指"護衛；護航艦"，合併起來專指 "驅逐艦的護航母艦"，中文簡化為 "護航驅逐艦"。除了護送驅逐艦的功能之外，也稍具有對空的防衛能力。

A Destroyer Escort (DE) is designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection against aircraft and smaller attack vessels employed in this application.