The first USS Ely (DE-309) was a United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort launched during World War II but never completed. Ely was laid down at Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California, on 2 August 1943 and launched on 10 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Ann G. Ely, widow of Lieutenant Arthur V. Ely, the ship's namesake. Construction of Ely was cancelled on 5 September 1944. She was stored incomplete in dry dock No. 1 from 25 September 1944 to 3 October 1945, cut in two in preparation for scrapping. She was scrapped at Mare Island.