USS Straus

History
United States
Name	Straus
Namesake	David H. Straus
Builder	Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas
Laid down	18 November 1943
Launched	30 December 1943
Commissioned	6 April 1944
Decommissioned	15 January 1947
Stricken	1 May 1966
Fate	Sunk as target, August 1973
General characteristics
Class and type	John C. Butler-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,350 long tons (1,370 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	36 ft 8 in (11.18 m)
Draft	9 ft 5 in (2.87 m)
Propulsion	2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp (8,900 kW); 2 propellers
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement	14 officers, 201 enlisted
Armament	2 × single 5 in (127 mm) guns; 2 × twin AA guns ; 10 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) AA guns ; 1 × triple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes ; 8 × depth charge throwers; 1 × Hedgehog ASW mortar; 2 × depth charge racks;

USS Straus (DE-408) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1947. She was finally sunk as a target in 1973.

History

She was named in honor of Storekeeper Second Class David H. Straus, Jr. born in Houston, Tex., on 13 August 1916, who was killed during the Battle of the Coral Sea. The ship's keel was laid down on 18 November 1943 by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., of Houston, Texas. The destroyer escort was launched on 30 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. David Straus, and commissioned on 6 April 1944.

Atlantic Ocean operations

Straus was fitted out and held sea trials at Galveston, Texas, until 25 April when she sailed to Bermuda for her shakedown cruise. She then sailed to Boston, Massachusetts, for a post-shakedown overhaul from 28 May to 9 June. The ship arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 11 June and sailed for Panama the following week as an escort for the oiler USS Mississinewa. The oiler loaded at Aruba, off Venezuela, on 23 and 24 June and continued to Panama. On the evening of 24 June, the escort attacked a sound contact with depth charges and her Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar. Oil slicks and bubbles rose to the surface, but Straus had to break off the attack to rejoin Mississinewa. Straus left the oiler at Cristóbal and transited the Panama Canal on 26 June to sail independently to California.

Transfer to the Pacific Fleet

Straus stopped at

U.S. 3rd Fleet

.

Rescuing Japanese adrift at sea

Straus stood out of

hand grenade

. The next day, Straus steamed for a rendezvous with the 3rd Fleet for refueling and replenishment operations, after which her unit returned to Saipan. She sailed for Eniwetok on 1 October; and, upon her arrival three days later, she resumed convoy duty.

Intercepting infiltrating swimmers

Straus sailed with a

U.S. 5th Fleet

.

Straus departed Ulithi on 26 March with a task unit en route to rendezvous with task group TG 50.8, the main logistics group that was refueling and replenishing the fast carriers during the

Okinawa

operations. She remained with the group until 26 June. Two days later, she sailed from Ulithi with a convoy en route to Okinawa. The ships arrived on 2 July, and Straus was assigned to antisubmarine patrol. The destroyer escort continued operating in the Okinawa area after the cessation of hostilities with Japan.

End-of-war operations

On 19 September, she sailed with a task unit for Japan and arrived at

destroyers

to provide a show of force before occupation forces arrived.

Straus was detached before the

Kyūshū

with ready air support in case the Japanese offered resistance. She returned to Sasebo on 25 September and remained there until 15 October when she weighed anchor for the United States. After port calls at Saipan and Pearl Harbor, the destroyer escort arrived at San Diego on 5 November 1945 to begin inactivation.

Post-war decommissioning

Straus remained inactive at the Naval Repair Base until 15 January 1947 when she was decommissioned and attached to the San Diego Group of the

Pacific Reserve Fleet. Straus was struck from the Navy List

on 1 May 1966 and used as a target in August 1973.

Awards

Straus received three battle stars for World War II service.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Straus (DE-408)