USS Samuel B . Roberts ( DE - 413 ) USS " Samuel B . Roberts " ( DE - 413 ) was a " John C . Butler " - class destroyer escort of the United States Navy . " Samuel B . Roberts " was part of the " Battle off Samar " , an unlikely victory in which relatively light U . S . warships prevented a superior Japanese force from attacking the amphibious invasion fleet off the large Philippine island of Leyte . This destroyer escort , along with the handful of destroyer s , destroyer escorts , and escort carrier s of the unit called " Taffy 3 " , was inadvertently left alone to fend off a fleet of heavily armed Japanese battleship s , cruiser s , and destroyers in this crucial action off the Island of Samar , during the Battle of Leyte Gulf of October 1944 . Steaming aggressively through a gauntlet of incoming shells , " Samuel B . Roberts " scored one torpedo hit and numerous gunfire hits as she slugged it out with larger enemy warships before finally being sunk . After the battle , " Samuel B . Roberts " received the nickname " the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship . " Named for Coxswain Samuel Booker Roberts , Jr . , a Navy Cross recipient , " Samuel B . Roberts " was laid down on 6 December 1943 , at the Brown Shipbuilding Company of Houston , Texas . She was launched on 20 January 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Roberts , and was commissioned on 28 April 1944 , commanded by Lieutenant Commander Robert W . Copeland , USNR . She was the first of three U . S . Navy ships to bear her name . Service history . " Samuel B Roberts " had a shakedown cruise off Bermuda from 21 May – 19 June . After spending time at Boston Navy Yard , her port propeller shaft struck a large whale off the coast of Maine while sailing on her way to Europe . This damaged her propeller shaft and delayed her deployment . Following repairs and repainting in Norfolk , Virginia , " Roberts " departed 22 July going through the Panama Canal 27 July . She joined the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 10 August . " Samuel B . Roberts " conducted training exercises around the Hawaiian Islands , and then steamed out on 21 August with a convoy that reached Eniwetok Atoll on 30 August . On 2 September , " Roberts " steamed back to Pearl Harbor , arriving there with a convoy on 10 September . Following further training , the destroyer escort got underway on 21 September , escorted a convoy to Eniwetok , and arrived on 30 September . " Roberts " next proceeded to Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands of the Southwest Pacific , and then joined Task Unit 77 . 4 . 3 , nicknamed " Taffy 3 " . From there she steamed to the Leyte Gulf area off the eastern Philippines , and upon arrival , she commenced operations with the Northern Air Support Group off the Island of Samar . The Battle off Samar . Shortly after dawn on 25 October , " Samuel B . Roberts " was protecting Taffy 3 ' s small escort carriers . These were serving as bases for small bombers and fighters that were supporting the Army assault . These warships were steaming off the eastern coast of Samar when the Japan ese Center Force — a 23 - ship task force under the command of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita — suddenly appeared on the horizon and opened fire . At 07 : 35 , " Roberts " turned and headed toward the battle . She charged toward the heavy cruiser . The commanding officer , Copeland , announced " We ' re making a torpedo run . The outcome is doubtful , but we will do our duty . " With smoke as cover , " Roberts " steamed to within of " Chōkai " , coming under fire from the cruiser ' s forward guns . " Roberts " had moved so close that the enemy guns could not depress enough to hit her and the shells simply passing overhead . Many hit the carrier . Once within torpedo range , she launched her three Mark 15 torpedo es . One blew off " Chōkai " s bow . The American sailors cheered " that a way Whitey , we hit ' em " as if it were a ballgame , as shells were still incoming . " Roberts " then fought with the Japanese ships for a further hour , firing more than six hundred shells , and while maneuvering at very close range , mauling " Chōkai " s superstructure with her 40 mm and 20 mm anti - aircraft guns . At 08 : 51 , the Japanese landed two hits , the second of which damaged the aft 5 inch gun . This damaged gun suffered a breech explosion shortly thereafter which killed and wounded several crew members . With her remaining gun , " Roberts " set the bridge of the heavy cruiser on fire and destroyed the " Number Three " gun turret , before being hit by three shells from the battleship . The shells tore a hole long and wide in the port side of her aft engine room . Gunner ' s Mate Third Class Paul H . Carr was in charge of the aft gun mount , which had fired nearly all of its 325 stored rounds in 35 minutes before a breech explosion . Carr was found dying at his station from a severe intestinal wound , begging for help to load the last round he was holding into the breech . He had scored a great many hits on the heavy cruiser Chokai , also sunk that day . When the projectile was taken away from him , he was found later , holding it , attempting to load it . He was awarded a Silver Star , and a guided missile frigate was later named for him . The USS " Copeland " ( FFG - 25 ) and " Samuel B . Roberts " ( FFG - 58 ) guided missile frigates were also named for the ship and its captain . At 09 : 35 , the order was given to abandon ship . She sank 30 minutes later , with 90 of her sailors . The 120 survivors of the crew clung to three life rafts for 50 hours before being rescued . During the battle , " Samuel B . Roberts " — designed for — reached by diverting all available steam to the ship ' s twin turbines . " Samuel B . Roberts " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 27 November 1944 . Awards . " Samuel B . Roberts " was included in the Presidential Unit Citation given to Task Unit 77 . 4 . 3 " for extraordinary heroism in action . " " Samuel B . Roberts " earned one battle star for her World War II service . Memorials . At the U . S . Naval Academy , in Alumni Hall , a concourse is dedicated to Lt . Lloyd Garnett and his shipmates on " Samuel B . Roberts " who earned their ship the reputation as the " destroyer escort that fought like a battleship " in the Battle of Leyte Gulf . Successors . Three ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS " Samuel B . Roberts " , in honor of Samuel B . Roberts . In popular culture . The television show Star Trek Deep Space 9 featured a starship named " Samuel B . Roberts " in the 1999 episode " What You Leave Behind " . The Miranda - class cruiser appears briefly as a background ship during the final battle of the Dominion War .