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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
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.
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.
0640804	334k		Carol Ann Plesnar Taylor, Pa.

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. 1945	Lcdr. Donald Albert Nienstedt, USNR (Comm. CO) (prior enl. / USNA '34) (Los Angeles, Cal.)
2.) .. Dec. 1945 - .. Apr. 1946	Lt. Leo E. Jurgensen, USNR
3.) .. Apr. 1946 - 01 Jun. 1946	Lcdr. Thiel John Kohne, USNR
4.) 01 Jun. 1946 - 15 Jan. 1947	Lcdr. 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
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation
Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Straus

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