View source for USS Rall

{{Short description|Evarts-class destroyer escord of the United States Navy during World War II}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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|Ship image= USS Rall (DE-304) underway in San Francisco Bay on 23 April 1944 (19-N-89975).jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=USS ''Rall''
|Ship namesake=  
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Mare Island Navy Yard]]
|Ship laid down= 24 May 1943
|Ship launched= 23 September 1943
|Ship sponsor= 
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|Ship commissioned= 8 April 1944
|Ship decommissioned= 11 December 1945
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|Ship struck= 3 January 1946
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|Ship honors= 3 [[battle star]]s (World War II)
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 18 March 1947
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship type= {{sclass|Evarts|destroyer escort}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1140|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
*{{convert|1430|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length=*{{convert|289|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
*{{convert|283|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} [[Length at the waterline|w/l]]
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draft={{convert|11|ft|m|abbr=on}} (max)
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|Ship propulsion=*4 × [[General Motors]] Model 16-278A [[diesel engine]]s with electric drive, {{convert|6000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
*2 [[Propeller|screws]]
|Ship speed= {{convert|19|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|4150|nmi|km|abbr=on}}  
|Ship complement=15 officers and 183 enlisted
|Ship armament=*3 × single [[3"/50 caliber gun|3"/50 Mk.22]] [[dual purpose gun]]s
*1 × quad [[1.1"/75 caliber gun|1.1"/75 Mk.2 AA gun]]
*9 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm Mk.4 AA guns]]
*1 × [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog Projector Mk.10]] (144 rounds)
*8 × Mk.6 [[depth charge]] projectors
*2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracks
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'''USS ''Rall'' (DE-304)''' was an {{sclass|Evarts|destroyer escort}} of the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. She was sent off into the [[Pacific Ocean]] to protect [[convoys]] and other ships from [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] [[submarines]] and fighter [[aircraft]]. She performed escort and [[anti-submarine]] operations in dangerous battle areas and returned home with three battle stars.

She was laid down on 24 May 1943; launched on 23 September by [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]], [[Vallejo, California]]; sponsored by Mrs. R. R. Rall, widow of Lieutenant (junior grade) Rall; and commissioned on 8 April 1944.

== World War II Pacific Theatre operations== 
Following [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] and training exercises off the [[California]] coast in April and May, ''Rall'' departed [[San Francisco]], [[California]], on 9 June, escorting {{USS|City of Dalhart|IX-156}}, and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 18 June. For the next three months, she supported the Pacific Submarine Training Command.
 
On 23 September 1944, the [[destroyer escort]] sortied from Pearl Harbor to escort troop ships carrying the occupation force for [[Ulithi]] [[Atoll]]. The [[task force|task group]] arrived at [[Ulithi]] on 8 October and spent the remainder of the month on patrol and escort missions there and in the [[Palaus]].
 
In the early weeks of November, the destroyers served in an escort group protecting the [[Oiler (ship)|oilers]] of [[Task Group]] 30.8, which supported the assault ships at the [[Leyte Gulf]] landings. During this duty she rode out heavy weather from a [[typhoon]] with no serious damage.

== ''Rall'' sinks Japanese midget submarine == 
On 20 November a Japanese midget [[submarine]] [[torpedo]]ed and sank oiler {{USS|Mississinewa|AO-59|3}} in [[Ulithi]] [[Lagoon]]. Laying [[depth charge]] patterns at the site of swirls in the calm water of the lagoon, ''Rall'' was credited with sinking the submarine when debris and bodies surfaced.

== Support invasion operations==
Following patrol duties in early December, ''Rall'' and {{USS|Halloran|DE-305|3}} escorted two escort carriers to the [[Admiralty Islands]], then returned to [[Ulithi]]. On 14 December ''Rall'' with other ships sortied from that atoll and arrived in [[Hawaii]] in time for [[Christmas]].

After invasion rehearsals at [[Maui]] and [[Kahoolawe]] preparatory to the [[Iwo Jima]] assault, ''Rall'' got underway 26 February 1945 as a unit of the escort group convoying the [[garrison]] troops for the occupation of that island. The transports and their escorts arrived on 21 March and landed the Army occupation units. ''Rall'' then escorted the transport group carrying assault troops back to [[Saipan]]. From there she proceeded to [[Espiritu Santo]], [[New Hebrides]], arriving on 19 March.

Assigned as a screening ship for the transports carrying the Floating Reserve, the [[27th Infantry Division (United States)|27th Infantry Division]], for the [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] invasion, ''DE-304'' sortied from [[Espiritu Santo]] on 25 March for [[Ulithi]] and the [[Ryukyus]]. En route, the [[convoy]] made an unidentified submarine contact, and ''Rall's'' lookout spotted a floating mine in the convoy path and detonated it by gunfire. The [[task force|task group]] arrived off [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] on 9 April, and ''Rall'' took a screening station about 10 miles southeast of [[Ie Shima]]. The next few days were quiet except for air raid alerts.

== Attacked by Japanese kamikaze aircraft ==
At 1925 on 12 April 1945, the ship went to [[General Quarters]]. During the next three hours, 14 separate air attacks were tracked into the area, as the "[[Divine Wind]]" brought death and damage to the American invasion fleet off [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]]. A raid of five Japanese planes approached ''Rall's'' sector. The destroyer escort's gunners commenced firing, splashing three of the [[kamikaze]]s. A fourth was destroyed by a [[cruiser]], but the fifth broke through the fiery screen, and the plane, damaged and aflame hit the escort on the [[starboard]] side aft. A 500-pound bomb slung beneath the plane tore through the ship, exploding in the air about 15 feet from the port side. The explosion and fire from the suicide plane, combined with [[strafing]] attacks from another wave of fighters, resulted in heavy damage, 21 dead and 38 wounded. Prompt [[Damage control (maritime)|damage control]] action extinguished the fires and temporary repairs were commenced. ''Rall'' entered the [[Hagushi]] Beach anchorage and moored alongside {{USS|Pinkney|APH-2|3}}, where most of the wounded were transferred. The dead were removed the next morning for burial on [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]].

== Recovering from a kamikaze strike == 
After initial repairs, [[CortDiv|ComCortDiv]] 61 shifted his pennant to {{USS|Finnegan|DE-307|3}}, and the ''Rall'' departed for the [[Kerama Retto]] anchorage on 15 April. She was ordered on to [[Ulithi]], arriving there on 23 April. Following additional structural repairs, she left Ulithi for the last time and arrived at [[Seattle]], Washington, on 18 May.

== End-of-War activity == 
Following repairs and overhaul, the ship headed for [[San Diego]], California, on 12 July. Upon completion of underway refresher training, ''Rall'' left San Diego on 28 July, arriving Pearl Harbor on 5 August. Training occupied the time until 3 September, when ''Rall'' sailed for the [[U.S. East Coast|east coast]] proceeding via [[San Pedro, Los Angeles]], and the [[Panama Canal]].

== Post-War decommissioning ==
Arriving [[Charleston Navy Yard]] on 24 September, she was decommissioned on 11 December 1945, and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 3 January 1946. Her hulk was sold for scrap on 18 March 1947.

== Awards == 
''Rall'' earned three [[battle stars]] for [[World War II]] service.

{{Commons category|USS Rall (DE-304)}}

== References ==
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/rall.html}}

==External links==
* {{navsource|06/304|USS Rall (DE-304)}}

{{Evarts class destroyer escort}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rall (DE-304)}}
[[Category:Evarts-class destroyer escorts]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vallejo, California]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States]]