Photos and the story

Richard M. Rowell

Class	John C. Butler class
Type	Destroyer escort (DE)
Hull	DE-403
Builder	Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas
Launched	1943-11-17
Commissioned	1944-03-09
Fate	Afloat. Her commissioned service ended on 2 July 1946. She went to the breakers later.
Armament (class)	Destroyer escort. Two 5-inch guns and one funnel, on a shorter hull.
Command	Barnard, Harry Allan Jr. Commanding officer from 9 March 1944

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

Richard M. Rowell, hull DE-403, belonged to the John C. Butler class of destroyer escorts. Brown Shipbuilding, at Houston, Texas, laid her down on 18 August 1943 and launched her on 17 November 1943. The Navy commissioned her on 9 March 1944. Her first commanding officer was Lieutenant Commander Harry Allan Barnard Jr.

Her Pacific duty took her to Eniwetok, Manus, Samar, and Surigao. She was credited with 6 battle stars.

Her commissioned service ended on 2 July 1946. She went to the breakers later.

The pictures on this page are the originals.