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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Straus (DE 408)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - T - I - H
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 3 stars - World War II Victory Medal


Specifications:
Class: John C. Butler
Type: WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1350 tons (light), 1745 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 cal. DP guns (2x1), 4 - 40mm AA (2x2), 10 - 20mm AA, 3 - 21" TT, 1 Mk10 Hedgehog, 8 Mk6 Depth Charge Projectors, 2 Mk9 Depth Charge Stern Racks
Complement: 14 / 201
Straus (DE 408) Building and Operational Data:
  • 18 November 1943: Keel laid at the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 30 December 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. David Straus
  • 06 April 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr. D. A. Nienstedt in command
  • 05 November 1945: Arrived at U.S. Naval Repair Base, San Diego, for inactivation, remained until decommissioning
  • 11 August 1946: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 2 years and 9 months of service having steamed 117,706 miles, participated in the campaign for Saipan
  • 15 January 1947: Inactivation completed at San Diego, Cal., assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • 01 May 1966: Struck from the NVR
  • August 1973: Sunk as target
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Straus
    0640802
    194k 08 June 1944: Boston Harbor - USS Straus (DE 408) laying to off the Boston Navy Yard while calibrating the DAK direction finder. She had been in the yard from 01 to 08 June for post-shakedown repairs and alterations. She would get underway for Norfolk, Va. on the 9th.
    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 91911 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Straus
    0640803
    268k USS Straus (DE 408) circa 1944. Note camouflage pattern port side which differed from starboard side. Aerials and an ensign gaff on the funnel were common in this class and two 20 mm Oerlikons were fitted on the stern, aft of the 5"/38 gun. (Text from "U.S. Destroyer Escorts of World War 2" by Peter Elliott) (Description from Robert Hurst)


    These photos were sent to us by Carol after they were found in a scrapbook belonging to Raymond J. Shimley. Raymond passed away on 07 March 2017 at the nursing home where Carol is employed and had no known relatives to give his effects to. Born Raymond John Sczmelick on 26 August 1925 and raised in the borough of Duryea, Pa., he was inducted into the Navy at Dupont, Pa. on 22 November 1943. Completing boot camp at Sampson, New York, he attended the DE Training School at the Norfolk Training Station and reported to USS Straus (DE 408) at Houston, Texas on 06 April 1944 as a Seaman 2nd Class. He was promoted to Seaman 1st Class on 01 April 1946, and departed Straus the next day for Camp Elliot at San Diego to be discharged. R.I.P. Raymond
    Carol Ann Plesnar
    Taylor, Pa.
    Straus
    0640804
    334k

    Straus History
    View the USS Straus (DE 408) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Straus as submitted by the ship at war's end.

    Straus's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 06 Apr. 1944 - .. Dec. 1945Lcdr. Donald Albert Nienstedt, USNR (Comm. CO) (prior enl. / USNA '34) (Los Angeles, Cal.)
    2.) .. Dec. 1945 - .. Apr. 1946Lt. Leo E. Jurgensen, USNR
    3.) .. Apr. 1946 - 01 Jun. 1946Lcdr. Thiel John Kohne, USNR
    4.) 01 Jun. 1946 - 15 Jan. 1947Lcdr. Marion Chambliss Walley, USNR (Decomm. CO)

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information

    None
    Note About Contacts

    Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
    made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
    a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the Frequently
    Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.


    Additional Resources

    Tin Can Sailors
    The U.S. Navy Memorial
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
    Back To The Main Photo Index

    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail: Webmaster.

    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 14 October 2022