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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:
  • 7 June 1943: Keel laid as DE 698 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.
  • 22 June 1943: Named Raby
  • 4 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. James Joseph Raby, the widow of Radm Raby
  • 7 December 1943: Commissioned at New Orleans, La., Lcdr J. Scott II in command
  • At war's end, Raby was assigned to the Pacific Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force at San Diego, Cal.
  • 2 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., 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
  • 1 June 1968: Stricken 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 71k James Joseph Raby was born in Bay City, Mich. on 17 September 1874. He was appointed Naval Cadet on 9 September 1891. Commissioned Ensign on 1 July 1897, he advanced rapidly in rank, becoming a Commander 1 July 1914, Captain 23 November 1919, and Rear Admiral 1 November 1927. In 1912 he commanded 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 near Midway, Ga. on 15 January 1934.

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

    		Bill Gonyo
    Raby 23k undated wartime image DESA Archives
    Raby 41k undated wartime image -
    Raby 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
    Raby 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 8 September 1947. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-698-1597-47)
    Raby 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 8 September 1947. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-698-1595-47)
    Raby 47k undated post-war image Elton L. Murray, Jr.
    Raby 69k aft engine control panel
    Raby 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) Robert Hurst
    View the USS Raby (DE 698) DANFS history entry
    located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    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
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Raby
    The Destroyer History Foundation
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    Page Last Updated 15 July 2009