Rudderow-class destroyer escort

The Rudderow-class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 to 1945. Of this class, 22 were completed as destroyer escorts, and 50 were completed as Crosley-class high speed transports and were re-classified as high speed transport APDs. One ship was converted to an APD after completion. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships.

USS Rudderow
Class overview
Name: Rudderow class
Builders:
Operators:
Preceded by: Edsall class
Succeeded by: John C. Butler class
Planned: 252
Completed: 22
Cancelled: 180
Preserved: 1
General characteristics
Type: Destroyer escort
Displacement: 1,740 tons (1,770 metric tons) (fully loaded)
Length: 306 ft (93.3 m) (overall)
Beam: 36 ft 6 in (11.1 m)
Draft: 11 ft (3.4 m) (fully loaded)
Propulsion:
  • General Electric steam turbo-electric drive engine
  • Two 3-bladed propellers solid manganese-bronze 8 ft 5 in (2.6 m) diameter
Speed: 24 knots (most ships could attain 26/27 knots)
Range: 5,500 nautical miles at 15 knots (10,200 km at 28 km/h)
Complement:
  • Officers: 15
  • Enlisted: 198
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Radar: Type SL surface search fixed to mast above yard arm and type SA air search only fitted to certain ships.
  • Sonar: Type 128D or Type 144 both in retractable dome..
  • Direction Finding: MF direction finding antenna fitted in front of the bridge and HF/DF Type FH 4 antenna fitted on top of mast.
Armament:
  • Main guns: 2 x 5 inch /38 dual purpose mount
  • Anti-aircraft guns: 4 x 40 mm Bofors were fitted in the twin mounts in the 'B' and 'X' position. 10 x 20 mm single mount Oerlikon cannon positioned four next to the bridge behind 'B' gun mount, two on each side of the ship in sponsons just abaft the funnel, and two on the fantail just forward of the depth charge racks.
  • Torpedo tubes: three 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in a triple mount were mounted just aft of the stack.
  • Hedgehog: British-designed ahead-throwing anti-submarine mortar which fired 24 bombs ahead of the ship, this was situated on the main deck just aft of 'A' gun mount.
  • Depth charges: Approximately 200 were carried. Two sets of double rails each side of the ship at the stern, each set held 24 charges; eight K gun depth charge throwers each holding 5 charges, were situated each side of the ship just forward of the stern rails.

History

The lead ship was USS Rudderow which was launched on 14 October 1943. The ships had General Electric steam turbo-electric drive engines. The ships were built at various shipyards in the United States, including the Philadelphia Navy Yard and Defoe Shipbuilding Company. They were very similar to the Buckley class, having the same hull and machinery. The main differences were the Rudderows had two 5-inch (127 mm) enclosed guns and two twin-40 mm mounts, instead of the three 3-inch (76 mm) open guns and one twin-40 mm or one quad 1.1-inch (28 mm) mount of the Buckleys. Another major difference is the style of the configuration of the area of the bridge and pilot house which is low and enclosed compared to the Buckley Class which is tall and enclosed. The Rudderow Class is similar to the John C. Butler Class in this case and a distinguishing feature between these two class DEs is the size and number of the portholes in the pilot house. The Rudderow class has seven 16 inch portholes and the John C. Butler Class has nine 12 inch portholes, with both classes having three portholes facing the bow. The class was also known as the TEV type from their Turbo-Electric drive and 5-inch (V) guns.[1]

The final 180 of the class were canceled near the end of the war. After World War II, some of the surviving units of this class were transferred to Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and other countries. The rest were retained by the US Navy's reserve fleet until they were decommissioned.

  • View forward from the mast of Rudderow-class USS Chaffee (DE-230) showing 5in and 40mm guns.
  • View aft from the mast of Rudderow-class USS Chaffee (DE-230) showing rear 5in and 40mm guns, depth charge racks, depth charge projectors and torpedo tubes.

Ships in Class
Ship Name Hull No. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Rudderow DE-224 Philadelphia Navy Yard 15 July 1943 14 October 1943 14 May 1944 15 January 1947 Struck 1 November 1969, sold for scrap October 1970
Day DE-225 15 July 1943 14 October 1943 10 June 1944 16 May 1946 Struck 30 June 1968, sunk as target 1 March 1969
Chaffee DE-230 Charleston Navy Yard 26 August 1943 27 November 1943 9 May 1944 15 April 1946 Struck 17 August 1946, sold for scrap 1948
Hodges DE-231 9 September 1943 9 December 1943 27 May 1944 22 June 1946 Struck 1 December 1972, sold for scrap 12 September 1973
Riley DE-579 Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard 20 October 1943 29 December 1943 13 March 1944 15 January 1947 Struck 25 January 1974, Taiwanese Tai Yuan, 1968, scrapped 1992
Leslie L.B. Knox DE-580 7 November 1943 8 January 1944 22 March 1944 15 June 1946 Struck 15 January 1972, sold for scrap 13 June 1973
McNulty DE-581 17 November 1943 8 January 1944 31 March 1944 2 July 1946 Struck 1 March 1972, sunk as target 16 November 1972
Metivier DE-582 24 November 1943 12 January 1944 7 April 1944 1 June 1946 Struck 30 June 1968, Sold for scrap June 1969
George A. Johnson DE-583 24 November 1943 12 January 1944 15 April 1944 September 1957 Struck 1 November 1965, sold for scrap 19 September 1966
Charles J. Kimmel DE-584 1 December 1943 15 January 1944 20 April 1944 15 January 1947 Struck 30 June 1968, sunk as target 1 November 1969
Daniel A. Joy DE-585 1 December 1943 15 January 1944 28 April 1944 1 May 1965 Struck 1 May 1965, sold for scrap 1 March 1966
Lough DE-586 8 December 1943 22 January 1944 2 May 1944 24 June 1946 Struck 1 November 1969, sold for scrap October 1970
Thomas F. Nickel DE-587 15 December 1943 22 January 1944 9 June 1944 26 February 1958 Struck 1 December 1972, sold for scrap 9 June 1973
Peiffer DE-588 21 December 1943 26 January 1944 15 June 1944 1 June 1946 Struck 1 December 1966, sunk as target 16 May 1967
Tinsman DE-589 21 December 1943 26 January 1944 26 June 1944 11 May 1946 Struck 1 November 1969, sold for scrap 14 September 1973
DeLong DE-684 Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fore River Shipyard 19 October 1943 23 November 1943 31 December 1943 8 August 1969 Struck 8 August 1969, sunk as target 19 February 1970
Coates DE-685 8 November 1943 9 December 1943 24 January 1944 30 January 1970 Struck 30 January 1970, sunk as target 19 September 1971
Eugene E. Elmore DE-686 27 November 1943 23 December 1943 4 February 1944 31 May 1946 Struck 30 June 1968, sold for scrap June 1969
Holt DE-706 Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan 28 November 1943 15 February 1944 9 June 1944 2 July 1946 Struck 15 November 197, Korean Chung Nam, June 1963, scrapped 1984
Jobb DE-707 20 December 1943 4 March 1944 4 July 1944 13 May 1946 Struck 1 November 1969, sold for scrap October 1970
Parle DE-708 8 January 1944 25 March 1944 29 July 1944 1 July 1970 Struck 1 July 1970, sunk as target of Florida 27 October 1970

See also

References
  1. U.S. Destroyers, an illustrated design history by Norman Friedman, ISBN 1-55750-442-3 Chapter 7

Media related to Rudderow class destroyer escorts at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.