USS Reuben James (DE-153)

History
United States
Name	USS Reuben James
Namesake	Reuben James
Builder	Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia
Laid down	7 September 1942
Launched	6 February 1943
Commissioned	1 April 1943
Decommissioned	11 October 1947
Stricken	30 June 1968
Fate	Used as explosives test ship, 1968–1971 Sunk as target, 1 March 1971
General characteristics
Class and type	Buckley-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,740 long tons (1,768 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion	2 × boilers turbo-electric drive 12,000 shp (8.9 MW) 2 × solid manganese-bronze 3,600 lb (1,600 kg) 3-bladed propellers, 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter, 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) pitch 2 × rudders
Speed	23.6 knots (43.7 km/h; 27.2 mph)
Complement	213 officers and enlisted
Armament	3 × single 3"/50 caliber guns 1 × twin 40 mm gun 8 × 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 Reuben James (DE-153) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort in the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for Reuben James, a Boatswain's Mate who distinguished himself fighting the Barbary pirates.

Reuben James was laid down on 7 September 1942 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, launched on 6 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Oliver Hiram Ward, and commissioned on 1 April 1943.

Service history

First based in

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• "U-548". Retrieved 1 March 2023.
• "Sinking of U-548 - USS Buckley DE 51 and USS Reuben James DE 153". Retrieved 1 March 2023.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Reuben James at NavSource Naval History