USS Rudderow (DE-224)

History
Name:	USS Rudderow
Namesake:	Thomas Wright Rudderow
Builder:	Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Laid down:	15 July 1943
Launched:	14 October 1943
Commissioned:	14 May 1944
Decommissioned:	15 January 1947
Stricken:	1 November 1969
Honors and; awards:	2 battle stars (World War II)
Fate:	Sold for scrap, October 1970
General characteristics
Class and type:	Rudderow-class destroyer escort
Displacement:	1,450 long tons (1,473 t) light; 1,673 long tons (1,700 t) standard;
Length:	306 ft (93 m)
Beam:	37 ft (11 m)
Draft:	13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)
Propulsion:	Turbo-electric drive engine; 12,000 hp (8.9 MW);
Speed:	24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Complement:	221
Armament:	2 × single 5"/38 caliber guns; 2 × twin 40 mm guns; 10 × single 20 mm guns; 1 × triple 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar; 8 × K-gun depth charge projectors; 2 × depth charge tracks;

USS Rudderow (DE-224) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escorts, in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1947. After spending decades in reserve, she was sold for scrap in 1970.

History

USS Rudderow was named after Thomas Wright Rudderow and was laid down on 15 July 1943 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, launched on 14 October 1943 and commissioned on 15 May 1944, Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm W. Greenough, USNR, commanding.

Pacific War

She completed her shakedown trials off Bermuda and throughout the summer of 1944 participated in submarine hunter-killer patrols and the escort of convoys along the East Coast of the United States. Departing Staten Island on 14 October 1944, she sailed with her division (CortDiv 74) for the Pacific, passing through the Panama Canal on 23 October and joining the 7th Fleet at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea on 21 November.

After coastal escort duties during December, on 8 January 1945 she set sail for Luzon and on 21 January saw her convoy of landing craft safely into Lingayen Gulf. Between then and 7 February she patrolled the Lingayen anti-submarine screen before escorting landing craft to Subic Bay and steaming back to Lingayen Gulf to cover the retirement of LSTs, LCTs, and a fleet oiler to Leyte. A week later she steamed into the Mindanao Sea to assist the torpedoed destroyer Renshaw (DD-499) and escort her to San Pedro Bay.

On 24 February 1945, she began preparations for Operation Victor IV, the assault and occupation of Zamboanga. Setting sail on 8 March, she arrived off the landing area with echelon V-4-E early on 10 March. As U.S. troops pushed into the Zamboangan peninsula, she patrolled the Tictauran and Great Santa Cruz Islands, retiring on 11 March and returning with a reinforcement convoy from Leyte on 16 March. From 25 to 28 March she escorted a convoy from Puerto Princesa, Palawan to Zamboanga, then sailed north to arrive in Mangarin Bay, Mindoro for anti-submarine patrol duty starting on 30 March.

By mid-April 1945, she was back at Leyte and by the end of the month was once more operating in the Sulu Sea. On 5 May, she departed Tawi Tawi and headed southwest to escort a PT boat drydock and gasoline barge being towed by the ATR-4 to Tarakan, Borneo. Between 8 and 11 May she escorted resupply convoys from Morotai to Borneo and on 12 to 13 May towed a damaged PBM 261 miles to Tawi Tawi. She then returned briefly to the Halmaheras before setting sail for Leyte and much-needed repairs on 19 May.

She returned to sea in June 1945, escorting landing craft to Panay and resupply convoys to Morotai. On 18 June she reported for Philippine Sea Frontier duty and commenced inter-island escorts between Hollandia and Ulithi. From 27 July to 1 August she escorted reinforcements to Okinawa, then returned to the Philippines where she remained to the end of the year.

Decommissioning and sale

On 3 January 1946, she set sail for the United States. Arriving at San Diego by the end of the month, in March she was designated in reserve and was decommissioned on 15 January 1947. In May 1957 she was transferred to the San Francisco Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until struck from the Navy List on 1 November 1969. She was then sold for scrap the following October.

Military awards and honors

During World War II, the USS Rudderow earned two battle stars.

	American Campaign Medal
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with two bronze service stars)
	World War II Victory Medal
	Philippine Liberation Medal

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Photo gallery of USS Rudderow (DE-224) at NavSource Naval History

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