View source for USS Reuben James (DE-153)

{{Short description|Buckley-class destroyer escort}}
{{other ships|USS Reuben James}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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|Ship image=USS Reuben James (DE-153) underway in Hampton Roads on 17 April 1943 (80-G-62414).jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1947}}
|Ship name=USS ''Reuben James''
|Ship namesake=[[Reuben James]]
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia]]
|Ship laid down=7 September 1942
|Ship launched=6 February 1943
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=1 April 1943
|Ship decommissioned=11 October 1947
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|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=30 June 1968
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|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=*Used as explosives test ship, 1968&ndash;1971
*Sunk as target, 1 March 1971
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= {{sclass|Buckley|destroyer escort}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|1740|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length= {{convert|306|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|37|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=*2 × boilers
*[[General Electric]] [[turbo-electric]] drive
*{{convert|12000|shp|MW|abbr=on}}
*2 × solid manganese-bronze {{convert|3600|lb|abbr=on}} 3-bladed propellers, {{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} diameter, {{convert|7|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} pitch
*2 × rudders
|Ship speed= {{convert|23.6|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=213 officers and enlisted
|Ship armament=*3 × single [[3"/50 caliber gun]]s
*1 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm gun]]
*8 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm guns]]
*1 × triple [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*1 × [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] [[anti-submarine mortar]]
*8 × [[Depth charge#Delivery mechanisms|K-gun]] depth charge projectors
*2 × depth charge tracks
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'''USS ''Reuben James'' (DE-153)''' was a {{sclass|Buckley|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 [[Miami]], Florida, she conducted [[anti-submarine]] patrols and provided training in [[convoy]] escort and [[anti-submarine warfare]]. In March 1944, she shifted homeport from Miami to [[Norfolk, Virginia]].  In June 1944, she escorted a convoy from [[New York City|New York]] to Norfolk.  Between 13 July and 7 November 1944, ''Reuben James'' successfully escorted two convoys to the [[Mediterranean]], returning with westbound convoys.  During the ship's first eastbound voyage, nine German bomber aircraft attacked its convoy off [[Algeria]] on 1 August 1944.  ''Reuben James'' shot down one enemy bomber.  Returning to Boston on 7 November 1944, she joined an anti-submarine group operation in the [[North Atlantic]].  Operating south of [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], ''Reuben James'' was present when {{USS|Buckley|DE-51|6}} sank the {{ship|German submarine|U-548}} on 19 April 1945.

Arriving at [[Houston]], Texas, on 4 July 1945, ''Reuben James'' completed conversion to a [[radar picket ship]] on 25 November 1945, and was subsequently employed in the [[Atlantic]] and the [[Caribbean]] while being stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.  She was decommissioned on 11 October 1947.

In 1949, she was designated [[radar picket|DER]], but was reclassified [[Destroyer Escort|DE]] in 1954. She remained in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 30 June 1968. Her hulk was sunk as a target on 1 March 1971.

== References ==
*{{DANFS|http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de153.htm}}
*{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/boats/u548.htm |title=U-548 |access-date=2023-03-01}}
*{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/boats/u548.htm |title=Sinking of U-548 - USS Buckley DE 51 and USS Reuben James DE 153 |access-date=2023-03-01}}

==External links==
* {{navsource|/06/153|USS Reuben James}}

{{Buckley class destroyer escort}}
{{1971 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reuben James (De-153)}}
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Buckley-class destroyer escorts]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1971]]