Rudderow class destroyer escort

USS Rudderow (DE-224)
Class overview
Name:	Rudderow class destroyer escort
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Edsall class destroyer escort
Succeeded by:	John C. Butler class destroyer escort
Planned:	252
Completed:	22
Cancelled:	180
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer Escort
Displacement:	1,740 tons (1,770 metric tons) (fully loaded)
Length:	306 feet (93.2 m) (overall)
Beam:	36.5 feet (11.1 m)
Draft:	11 feet (3.6 m) (fully loaded)
Propulsion:	General Electric steam turbo-electric drive engine Two 3-bladed propellers solid manganese-bronze 8.5 feet 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)
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.

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 transport 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.

History

The lead ship was USS Rudderow (DE-224) 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 destroyer escort, having the same hull and machinery. The main differences were the Rudderows had two 5-inch guns and two twin-40 mm mounts, instead of the three 3-inch guns and one twin-40 mm or one quad-1.1 inch mount of the Buckleys. The class was also known as the TEV type from their Turbo-Electric drive and 5-inch (V) guns.

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, Mexico, and other countries. The rest were retained by the US Navy's reserve fleet until they were decommissioned.

Ships

Name	Number	Launched	Commissioned	Home port	Notes
Rudderow	DE-224	14 October 1943	15 May 1944
Weeks	DE-285	Canceled	N/A

See also

• List of destroyer escorts of the United States Navy
• List of frigates of the United States Navy subset of above with hull numbers DE/FF 1037 and higher plus all DEG/FFGs because of the United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification
• List of frigates

External links

Media related to Rudderow Class Destroyer Escorts at Wikimedia Commons

• http://www.desausa.org/ Destroyer Escort Sailors Association (DESA).
• http://www.ussslater.org/ USS Slater, the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum.
• http://www.uboat.net/
• Destroyers Online - List of Destroyer Escort classes