Design History
Only the fast, turbine-engined vessels of the Buckley type were considered suitable for this kind of conversion. The Rudderow class duplicated the Buckley in hull and propulsion layout, good for 24,5 knots and 12,000hp.
Modification History
Service History
The original DE armament of 3" guns had been a result of the British desire for dual-purpose guns and the requirement that these guns be available in large numbers quickly, which ruled out the 5" L/38. However, by December 1942, there had arisen some concern over the ability of the DE to deal with all kinds of threats, and the increasing production of 5" L/38 guns made their installation feasible. The DE was quite capable of taking the additional weight, especially the longer-hulled variant, so orders were placed to replace the 3" guns with two 5" L/38 guns on those ships on which such change would not affect the speed of construction - thus mainly new-construction vessels not laid down at the time. The changes also included the addition of a new, lower bridge structure.
Various minor modifications were made to these ships in the anti-air armament. Radar equipment was installed as the availability permitted.
Escort destroyers of this class served in all theaters on general escort duty. No ship of this class was lost in the Pacific.
Ships in class:
DE-224 Rudderow
DE-225 Day
DE-230 Chaffee
DE-231 Hodges
DE-579 Riley
DE-580 Leslie L. B. Knox
DE-581 McNulty
DE-582 Metivier
DE-583 George A. Johnson
DE-584 Charles J. Kimmel
DE-585 Daniel A. Joy
DE-586 Lough
DE-587 Thomas F. Nickel
DE-588 Peiffer
DE-589 Tinsmann
DE-684 De Long
DE-685 Coates
DE-686 Eugune E. Elmore
DE-706 Holt
DE-707 Jobb
DE-708 Parle
DE-709 Bray
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Displacements:
Standard: 1,435 tons Full: 1,814 tons Length: 93,27m / 306ft Beam: 11,26m / 36ft 11,5" Draft (Full Load): 3,42m / 11ft 3" Crew (Officers/Men): 12/192 Endurance: 5,050nm at 12 knots Speed: 24 knots |
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Belt: No belt armor
Deck: No deck armor Barbettes: No barbette armor Conning Tower: No conning tower armor |
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(As designed):
Main: 2 x 127mm L/38, in two single mounts, one forward, one aft Secondary: None AA: 4 x 40mm L/56 in two twin mounts, 10 x 20mm L/70 in single mounts Torpedoes: Three 533mm torpedo tubes in one triple mount Depth Charges: 1 x Hedgehog forward, 8 x K-Gun, 2 x depth charge track; 100 depth charges |