USS Reuben James (DE-153)
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| Career | Missing image USN-Jack.png United States Navy Jack |
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| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 7 September 1942 |
| Launched: | 6 February 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 1 April 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 11 October 1947 |
| Fate: | |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,740 tons |
| Length: | 306 ft |
| Beam: | 37 ft |
| Draught: | 13 ft 6 in |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 23.6 kts |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 213 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 2 5”, 3 3”, 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 depth charge tracks, 8 depth charge projectors, 1 depth charge projector (hedgehog-type), 3 21” torpedo tubes |
| Aircraft: | |
| Motto: | |
USS Reuben James (DE-153) was a Buckley-class 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, launched on 6 February 1943, and commissioned on 1 April 1943, with Lieutenant Commander Frank D. Giambattista in command. She was with a crew of 213, capable of 23.5 knots, and equipped with a main armament of two 5-inch guns, three 3-inch guns, and three 21-inch torpedo tubes. 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 to Norfolk. Between 13 July and on 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 bombers 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 Newfoundland, Reuben James was present when Buckley sank U-879 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.
See USS Reuben James for other ships of this name.