Photos and the story

Richard W. Suesens

Class	John C. Butler class
Type	Destroyer escort (DE)
Hull	DE-342
Builder	Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas
Launched	1944-01-11
Commissioned	1944-04-26
Fate	Afloat. Her commissioned service ended on 15 January 1947. She went to the breakers later.
Armament (class)	Destroyer escort. Two 5-inch guns and one funnel, on a shorter hull.
Command	McQuilkin, Milford Commanding officer from 26 April 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 W. Suesens, hull DE-342, belonged to the John C. Butler class of destroyer escorts. Consolidated Steel Corporation, at Orange, Texas, laid her down on 1 November 1943 and launched her on 11 January 1944. The Navy commissioned her on 26 April 1944. Her first commanding officer was Lieutenant Commander Milford McQuilkin.

Her Pacific duty took her to Leyte, Mindanao, Samar, and Luzon. She was credited with 5 battle stars.

Her commissioned service ended on 15 January 1947. She went to the breakers later.

The pictures on this page are the originals.