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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Raby (DE 698)


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


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 3 stars - WWII Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Specifications:
Class: Buckley
Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1400 tons (light), 1740 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 3 x 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks
Complement: 15 / 198
Raby (DE 698) Building and Operational Data:
  • 07 June 1943: Keel laid as DE 698 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
  • 22 June 1943: Named Raby
  • 04 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. James Joseph Raby, the widow of Radm. Raby
  • 07 December 1943: Commissioned at New Orleans, La., Lcdr. J. Scott II in command
  • 23 January 1945: Raby, in company with Corbesier (DE 438) and Conklin (DE 439) sank the Japanese submarine I-48 off Yap, the Caroline Islands
  • At war's end, Raby was assigned to the Pacific Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force at San Diego, Cal.
  • 02 November 1949: Reclassified as DEC 698 (control escort ship)
  • January 1950: Homeport assignment changed from San Diego, Cal. to Norfolk, Va.
  • 22 December 1953: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 10 years of service, placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet berthing area at St. James River, Fla.,
  • 27 December 1957: Reclassified back to DE698
  • 1960: Transferred to the Orange, Tex. Reserve Fleet berthing area
  • 01 June 1968: Struck from the NVR
  • 18 July 1969: Sold for scrapping
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Raby
    0669801

    Raby

    		 71k James Joseph Raby was born in Bay City, Mich. on 17 September 1874. He was appointed Naval Cadet on 09 September 1891. Commissioned Ensign on 01 July 1897, he advanced rapidly in rank, becoming a Commander 01 July 1914, Captain 23 November 1919, and Rear Admiral 01 November 1927. In 1912 he commanded USS Oregon (BB 3) with additional duty as commander of the port of Apra, Guam. During World War I, he received the Navy Cross for convoy escort duty while commanding Albany and later Missouri (BB 11). After various assignments in Washington, D.C., in 1922 he became Commandant of the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., and of the 8th Naval District. In 1931 he became Commandant of the 6th Naval District with additional duty as Commandant of the Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.

    He died in an auto accident near Midway, Ga., 31 miles south of Savannah, on 15 January 1934. Accompanied by Lieutenant E. B. Abernathy, his aide, and Mrs. Abernathy, he was on his way from Florida to Charleston, South Carolina, when the car turned over in attempting to pass another. The three were thrown clear of the car as the machine, driven by Lieutenant Abernathy, went out of control. The Admiral suffered a fractured skull and died within 15 minutes. Mrs. Abernathy was brought to a hospital suffering severe shock and undetermined injuries. Lieutenant Abernathy was slightly cut over one eye. Admiral Raby was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

    USS Raby (DE 698) (1943-1953) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo from the web site: Arlington National Cemetery)    		 Bill Gonyo
    Downey, Cal.

    Assoc. Researcher
    Navsource
    Raby
    0669802    		 23k undated wartime image DESA Archives
    Raby
    0669803    		 41k undated wartime image -
    Raby
    0669804    		 101k 25 August 1947: San Francisco Bay, Cal. - Bow on view of USS Raby (DE 698) off Mare Island.

    (U.S. Navy photo #DE-698-1599-47)    		 Darryl Baker
    PNCM, USNR (ret.)

    Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
    Raby
    06698055    		 76k 25 August 1947: San Francisco Bay, Cal. - Broadside view of Raby off Mare Island. She was in overhaul at the yard from 27 June to 08 September 1947.

    (U.S. Navy photo #DE-698-1597-47)
    Raby
    0669806    		 111k 25 August 1947: San Francisco Bay, Cal. - Stern view of Raby off Mare Island. She was in overhaul at the yard from 27 June to 08 September 1947.

    (U.S. Navy photo #DE-698-1595-47)
    Raby
    0669807    		 47k undated post-war image Elton L. Murray, Jr.
    Raby
    0669808    		 69k aft engine control panel
    Raby
    0669809    		 132k undated: USS Raby (DE 698) going full astern prior to departing Pearl Harbor. In the foreground is USS Marsh (DE 699) with crewmen preparing the ship for departure.

    (U.S. Naval Institute Press Photo from the book "Anti-submarine Warfare: An Illustrated History" by David Owen)    		 Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Raby Memorabilia
    Commemorative
    Postal Cover
    Raby
    Courtesy of
    Paul Petosky
    Raby History
    View the USS Raby (DE 698) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Raby as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Raby's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 07 Dec. 1943 - .. Aug. 1944Lcdr. James Scott II, USN (Comm. CO) (USNA ‘35) (Baltimore, Md.)
    2.) .. Aug. 1944 - .. Sep. 1945Lcdr. John Lathrop Slade Jr., USNR (Hinsdale, Ill.)
    3.) .. Sep. 1945 - .. Nov. 1945Lt. John M. Regan, USNR
    4.) .. Nov. 1945 - .. Jun. 1946Lcdr. Horatio N. Warren, USNR (Prince Edward Island, Canada)
    5.) .. Jun. 1946 - Lcdr. Gustave Albert Wolf, USN (USNA ‘39) (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
    6.) ~1949 - .. Aug. 1950Lcdr. Thomas Chapin Buell, USN (USNA ‘41) (Bisbee, Ariz.)
    7.) .. Aug. 1950 - .. Mar. 1952Lcdr. George Henry Rood, USN
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: Dan Donovan
    E-mail: Dan Donovan
    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
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Raby
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
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    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
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    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 09 April 2020