Allied Warships

USS Reuben James (ii) (DE 153)

Destroyer Escort of the Buckley class

NavyThe US Navy
TypeDestroyer Escort
ClassBuckley 
PennantDE 153 
Built byNorfolk Navy Yard (Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.A.) 
Ordered10 Jan 1942 
Laid down7 Sep 1942 
Launched6 Feb 1943 
Commissioned1 Apr 1943 
End service11 Oct 1947 
History

Decommissioned 11 October 1947.
Stricken 30 June 1968.
Used as explosives test ship from 1968 till 1971.
Sunk as a target 1 March 1971.

 

Commands listed for USS Reuben James (ii) (DE 153)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1T/Cdr. Frank Daniel Giambattista, USN1 Apr 194313 Apr 1943
2Alfred Edward Sharp, Jr., USNR13 Apr 19436 Oct 1943
3Lt.Cdr. George Stephen James Forde, USNR6 Oct 1943Jan 1944
4Vernon Aaron Isaacs, USNR31 Jan 194417 Sep 1944
5Lt. Grant Cowherd, USNR17 Sep 1944late 1945

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Notable events involving Reuben James (ii) include:


1 Aug 1944
As part of Escort Div. 66, Task Force 62 Reuben James shot down a German Ju 88 bomber in the Mediterranean Sea while defending the hundred ship eastbound convoy USG 48. At least two bombs fell close by the ship and two torpedoes were dodged during the action lasting 1 hour and 40 minutes. Reuben James was strafed by one Ju 88. (1)

13 Mar 1945
USS Pollack (Lt.Cdr. W.M. Wilcox, USNR) and USS Sailfish (T/Lt.Cdr. L. Marcy, USN) conducted exercises in Long Island Sound with USS Reuben James (Lt. G. Cowherd, USNR), USS Scroggings (T/Lt.Cdr. H. Kriloff, USN) and USS Jack W. Wilke (Lt.Cdr. J.F. Maloney, USNR).

19 Apr 1945
During the action when U 548 was sunk the Reuben James played only a supporting role as the DE that was conning the Buckley to the target. Reuben James fired no weapons of any kind as the target was sunk by 3 hits with the initial salvo of 24 hedgehogs fired by Buckley. First contact was at 0650 hours, Hedgehogs fired at 0729 hours, Reuben James noted 3 explosions at 0730 hours and logged a severe explosion at 0730. At this time contact. Reuben James can only claim an assist in this action. DE's 700 800 were present guarding the perimeters during the sinking. Much debris was collected by whaleboat over the next 5 hours and turned over to Buckley. (1)

19 Apr 1945
German U-boat U-548 was sunk in the North Atlantic south-east of Halifax, in position 42°19'N, 61°45'W by depth charges from the American destroyer escorts USS Reuben James and USS Buckley.

Media links


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.


The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts

Bruce Hampton Franklin

Sources

  1. Personal communication

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