USS Oberrender

USS Oberrender

USS Oberrender was a John C. Butler–class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was named for Lieutenant Commander Thomas Olin Oberrender Jr., the engineering officer of the light cruiser USS Juneau, who was killed during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. Oberrender served on convoy escort duty in the Pacific from late 1944, with an interlude protecting escort carriers during the invasion of Leyte. The ship was irreparably damaged by a kamikaze attack in early May 1945, and was decommissioned and sunk as a target late that year.

About USS Oberrender in brief

Summary USS OberrenderUSS Oberrender was a John C. Butler–class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was named for Lieutenant Commander Thomas Olin Oberrender Jr., the engineering officer of the light cruiser USS Juneau, who was killed during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. Oberrender served on convoy escort duty in the Pacific from late 1944, with an interlude protecting escort carriers during the early stages of the invasion of Leyte. The ship was irreparably damaged by a kamikaze attack in early May 1945, and was decommissioned and sunk as a target late that year. The class was designed to meet a need for large numbers of cheap anti-submarine escort ships for ocean convoys, and as a result carried little anti-surface armament. She also carried four 40-millimeter Bofors anti-aircraft guns in two twin mounts, also controlled by the Mark 51 fire-control system, and ten single Oerlikon 20-millimeters light AA guns. She had a range of 6,000 nautical miles at 12 knots and was equipped with a QC series sonar, SL-1 surface search radar, and SA-2 air search radar. Her name was changed to Oberrender in honor of the late Lieutenant Commander Oberrender, who died during the battle of Guadelcanal, and his son, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Oberrender III, who became the ship’s captain after his father died in the attack on Juneau.

The destroyer was commissioned on 11 May 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Samuel Spencer, who commanded the ship for the duration of her service. She left the Admiralty Islands on October 1, 1944, for Eniwetok Islands in the Marshall Islands, arriving at her destination on 30 September. With fellow destroyer escorts Samuel B. Roberts and Walter C. Roberts, Oberrender left for Pearl Harbor on 18 October. She arrived at Pearl Harbor after a stop a stop at Aruba on 1 August, escorted Nantahala and Nemasket, and conducted training operations, including gunnery exercises, until August 30, when she departed for Enwokok Islands. On September 1, she escorted another convoy along with the destroyer Rall; both returned with another convoy; and on September 18, Ober render left for Manus in the Admiralties. On October 30, she arrived at Manus with the other escorts of Cortus Cortus and Wann Wann, and on October 31, she sailed for Bermuda. On November 2, she left Manus for Bermuda, escorting the oiler Nantahaala and tanker Nemasket; on November 3, she returned to Manus. On December 1, the ship sailed to Bermuda for further training exercises.