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USS Rudderow (DE-224)

1944 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History

Destroyer escort is a new U.S. warship development during World War II, including surface ships responsible for escort escort and major high seas anti-submarine warfare missions. Relatively fast, having to keep up with convoys and pursue enemy submarines, these blue water designs have inherently good endurance and seaworthiness to take on the long ocean voyages required in wartime. The United States Navy (USN) Rudderow class is one such group of ships, with a total of 252 ships originally planned (268 originally ordered).

She arrived in the United States Navy's (USN) inventory to provide the service with a dedicated, powerful submarine hunting platform, but only 22 were ultimately completed (including the lead ship USS Ruddrow), as approximately 180 more were eventually cancelled during the war. Fourteen have had roles in high-speed transportation.

This course is succeeded by the John C. Butler course.

One of the major improvements in this class compared to previous destroyer frigate models is the replacement of the old 3"/50 caliber gun with an updated 5"/38 caliber gun, which gained better range and penetration, and overall better performance in naval combat. Another added benefit comes from the speed provided by the turbo-electric engine unit.

USS Rudlow (DE-224) was laid from the Philadelphia Navy Yard on July 15, 1943, and launched on October 14 of the same year. On May 14, 1944, USS Rudderow was named after Thomas Wright Rudderow, a Marine and World War I and World War II veteran who participated in naval operations in World War II (1939-1945).

The design displaces 1,475 tons under standard load and up to 1,700 tons under full load. Dimensions include a length of 306 feet, a beam of 37 feet, and a draft of 13 feet.

Power comes from a turbo-electric propulsion engine that produces 12,000 horsepower and drives multiple shafts under the stern. The warship can reach speeds of 24 knots under ideal conditions. There are 221 seafarers on board.

The armament is armed with a 2 x 5"/38 caliber single mount main cannon. There are 2 x 40mm Bofors autocannons in double mounts for anti-aircraft roles, the turret is supported by 10 x 20mm Oerlikon guns and also comes with a single triple mount Tube 21" (533 mm) torpedo launcher, a single "Hedgehog" anti-submarine mortar, 8 x K-gun depth charge launchers and 2 x depth charge racks.

The USS Rudlow completed trials off the East Coast of the United States in mid-1944 and was deployed to the Atlantic Theater as a submarine chaser. She passed through the Panama Canal in October and joined the 7th Fleet in New Guinea in November. From there until January 1945, it was transferred to the Philippines for further escort operations. She was assisting in and around the archipelago until May.

She then took on an important repair job.

In June 1945, the ship went to sea again and continued to undertake the escort mission. One such effort was to escort troops to Okinawa and then back to Philippine waters at the end of the war. With Japan's surrender in August 1945 and the war drawing to a close, she returned to U.S. mainland waters in January 1946.

In March of the same year, she was enlisted in the reserves and eventually retired in January 1947.

However, she was able to dodge the scraper flares for a while, as in May 1957 she was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained dormant until her eventual abandonment in November 1969. She was scrapped in October 1970.

For her service, the ship was awarded two Battle Stars and the United States Campaign Medal, the Asia Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.