USS Baron

USS Baron (DE-166) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. In 1952, she was transferred to Uruguay where she served as ROU Uruguay (DE-1) until 1990.

History
United States
Name	USS Baron
Namesake	Richard S. Baron
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newark, New Jersey
Laid down	30 November 1942
Launched	9 May 1943
Commissioned	5 July 1943
Decommissioned	26 April 1946
Stricken	14 May 1952
Honors & awards	3 battle stars (World War II)
Fate	Transferred to Uruguay, 3 May 1952
Uruguay
Name	ROU Uruguay
Acquired	3 May 1952
Stricken	1990
Identification	DE-1
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class & type	Cannon-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,240 long tons (1,260 t) standard 1,620 long tons (1,646 t) full
Length	306 ft (93 m) o/a 300 ft (91 m) w/l
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draft	11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Propulsion	4 × GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2 screws
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	15 officers and 201 enlisted
Armament	3 single × Mk.22 3-inch/50-caliber guns 8 × 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns 3 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 1 × Hedgehog Mk.10 anti-submarine mortar (144 rounds) 8 × Mk.6 depth charge projectors 2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracks

Construction and commissioning

Baron was launched on 9 May 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newark, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Anne Pl. Baron, widow of Lieutenant Commander Richard S. Baron for whom the ship was named; and, commissioned on 5 July 1943. Baron had been awarded the Navy Cross for risking his life to recover classified documents during the bombardment of Cavite, Philippines.^[1] He was killed on 15 March 1942 during the bombing of Cebu City, Philippines.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Baron departed New York on 8 September 1943 for the Pacific. Between October 1943 and August 1944 she escorted convoys among the island groups of the South Central Pacific Ocean. She also acted as a screen and fire-support ship during the following operations: Hollandia landings (21–24 April 1944); Truk-Satawan-Ponape raid (29 April – 1 May); Saipan invasion (20 June – 11 July); and capture of Guam (22–29 July). On 7 September 1944 she arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard for an overhaul.

Returning to the Pacific early in November 1944, Baron reported to Commander, Submarine Training, Pacific. Until the end of May 1945 she conducted training exercises with friendly submarines off Pearl Harbor and Guam. For the remainder of the war she operated in the vicinity of the Marshall Islands engaged in hunter-killer, air-sea rescue, patrol, and escort duties.

On 27 August 1945 Baron was ordered to Maloelap, Wotje, and Jaluit Atolls for the surrender of their Japanese garrisons. The surrender was completed by 6 September and Baron remained at Wotje Atoll until 18 September supervising the disarmament of the Japanese fortifications. She then steamed to San Diego, California, arriving on 29 September. Departing the next day, she proceeded to New York, where she arrived on 14 October. Baron went out of commission in reserve on 26 April 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Florida.

Uruguayan Navy

Baron was the first of two Cannon-class destroyers transferred to Uruguay under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program on 3 May 1952 and commissioned as ROU Uruguay (DE-1).^[2] The 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns and torpedo tubes were removed.^[3] In 1969, both destroyers participated in UNITAS X joint exercises with the U.S. and other South American navies.^[4]

She was decommissioned in 1980, and scrapped in 1990.^[5][6]

Awards

Baron received three battle stars for her World War II service in the Pacific.

In fiction

DE-166 appears in the fictional novel Thin Air as the USS Sturman.^[7]