USS Barber (DE-161)
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|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1942 |
| Laid down: | 27 April 1943 |
| Launched: | 30 May 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 10 October 1943 |
| Reclassified APD: | 23 October 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 22 March 1946 |
| Struck: | 27 November 1968 |
| Fate: | Sold to Mexico 17 February 1969, renamed Coahuila (B-7)
still in service |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1400 tons standard 1740 tons full load |
| Length: | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam: | 37 ft (11.3 m) |
| Draft: | 9.5 ft (4.1 m) standard 11.25 ft full load |
| Propulsion: | 2 boilers, General Electric Turbo-electric drive 2 solid manganese-bronze 3600 lb 3-bladed propellers, 8.5 ft. diameter, 7 ft 7 inch pitch 12,000 hp (8.9 MW) 2 rudders |
| Speed: | 23 knots (43 km/h) |
| Range: | 359 tons oil 3700 nautical miles at 15 knots 6000 nautical miles at 12 knots |
| Complement: | 15 officers, 198 men |
| Armament: | 3 x 3 in/50 cal. guns (76.2 mm) 4 x 1.1 in/75 (28 mm) Anti-Aircraft guns (1x4) 8 x 20 mm 3 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (1x3) 1 x hedgehog projector 8 x depth charge projectors (K-guns) 2 x depth charge tracks |
USS Barber (DE-161/APD-57), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Malcolm, Randolph, and Leroy Barber, all brothers, who were killed in action aboard the USS Oklahoma on 7 December 1941.
Barber was launched 20 May 1943 by Norfolk Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Peter Barber, mother of the Barber brothers, commissioned 10 October 1943 Lieutenant E. T. B. Sullivan in command, and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.
Between December 1943 and October 1944 Barber escorted convoys in the Atlantic, completing three trans-Atlantic crossings to North Africa. For a brief, but rewarding, period (24 March-11 May 1944) she served as a unit of hunter-killer TG 21.15 (Croatan Group). On 26 April Barber joined USS Frost, USS Huse, and USS Snowden to sink the German submarine U-488 in 17°54' N., 38°05' W.
On 9 October 1944 Barber entered Philadelphia Navy Yard for conversion to a high speed transport. Her designation was changed to APD-57, 23 October 1944. Upon completion of her reconstruction she remained on the east coast for a short period of time and then proceeded to the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor 26 March 1945. On 30 April she arrived at Ulithi, Caroline Islands, and then departed 5 May as a convoy escort to support the invasion of Okinawa. She remained at Okinawa on patrol until 4 July.
Between July and November 1945 she performed the duties of a convoy escort and patrol vessel throughout the islands of the Western Pacific and Japan. Departing the Far East 21 November, Barber steamed to the east coast of the United States for pre-inactivation overhaul. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Florida, 22 May 1946.
Barber received three battle stars for her World War II service.
[edit] References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
