USS Burden R . Hastings ( DE - 19 ) USS " Burden R . Hastings " ( DE - 19 ) was an of the United States Navy during World War II . Immediately after being built , she was crewed and send to the Pacific Ocean to escort convoys and to protect them from air and submarine attack . During her wartime service , she was credited with having sunk one Japanese submarine and otherwise protecting numerous ships from danger . She was awarded four battle star s for her services in battle areas . Originally built for the United Kingdom under Lend - Lease , she was launched as HMS " Duckworth " ( BDE - 19 ) on 20 November 1942 by Mare Island Navy Yard . Taken over by the United States and reclassified DE - 19 on 25 January 1943 , the ship was renamed " Burden R . Hastings " on 19 February 1943 ; and commissioned on 1 May 1943 , Lieutenant Commander P . A . Walker , USNR , in command . Service history . Pacific Theatre operations , 1943 . During July 1943 " Burden R . Hastings " made a quick voyage between California and Pearl Harbor and return . In August she returned to Pearl Harbor and then proceeded to Baker Island where she carried out patrol and escort duties . On 12 November she arrived off Tarawa , Gilbert Islands , and carried out pre - invasion bombardments of Japanese positions until the 20th , when landings were made . She remained in support of the occupation until 23 November and then departed for the newly established Advanced Naval Base at Funafuti , Ellice Islands . During the remainder of 1943 " Burden R . Hastings " escorted two convoys to Tarawa and one to Nouméa , New Caledonia , and then returned to Pearl Harbor , arriving on 8 January 1944 . 1944 . " Burden R . Hastings " departed Pearl Harbor on 28 January 1944 and proceeded to the Marshall Islands where she supported the occupation of Kwajalein ( 5 – 6 February ) . Returning to Pearl Harbor on 13 February , she remained in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands until the 29th . Once again she returned to the Marshalls and then participated in the Palau - Yap - Ulithi - Woleai raids ( 30 March – 1 April ) . During the remainder of World War II " Burden R . Hastings " operated as a convoy escort , plane guard , and unit of various hunter - killer groups in the area of the Marshall , Gilbert , and western Caroline Islands . Sinking of the Japanese submarine " RO - 44 " . Detached from duty at Majuro on 13 June , " Burden R . Hastings " headed via Eniwetok for Pearl Harbor , proceeding independently . At 0250 on 16 June , the warship ' s SL radar picked up a surface contact 10 miles away that showed no IFF ( Identification Friend or Foe ) signal . The small " pip " on the radar screen indicated either a surfaced submarine or a small craft , so the captain decided to close range to 5 , 000 yards and challenge the stranger visually . " Burden R . Hastings " proceeded ahead through the moderate sea while her quarry moved at 18 knots . The destroyer escort rang up 19 . 5 knots to close range and went to General Quarters . At 0337 , when the two ships were 5 , 000 yards apart , " Burden R . Hastings " challenged thrice with an Aldis lamp but received no reply . She then fired four star shell s in an effort to illuminate ; but , after the second burst , radar plot reported that the " pip " had disappeared from the screen . " Burden R . Hastings " then began to hunt a submarine . Opening her sonar search at 0344 , she latched onto the contact at 0354 , picking up a slow - moving submarine , 1 , 700 yards distant . Following one fruitless " hedgehog " attack , " Burden R . Hastings " repeated the procedure after regaining contact . A heavy underwater explosion and a phosphorescent flash beneath the waves testified to the success of her second " hedgehog " run . The destroyer escort then passed over the submarine , and four depth charges splashed into her wake , drifting downward toward the target . Five seconds after the four charges exploded , a violent explosion rumbled up from the depths . The concussion knocked out " Burden R . Hastings " ' gyro compass and caused other minor damage throughout the ship . Further searching failed to disclose any other contact . At sunrise , lookouts spotted debris and a " moderate " oil slick . " Burden R . Hastings " launched her motor whaleboat and its crew picked up wreckage . Characters on top of a small spare part s box indicated that her victim had been . Postwar examination of Japanese records corroborated the sinking of " RO - 44 " . At 1900 on the 16th , " Burden R . Hastings " resumed her voyage to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on the 22nd . After an availability that extended to 4 July , she spent the next three days screening as the escort carrier conducted carrier qualifications in the Hawaiian operating area . On 9 July , " Burden R . Hastings " and four other destroyer escorts left Pearl Harbor to escort a large convoy of troopships to Eniwetok . Reaching that atoll on the 17th , she cleared the Marshalls the same day , on her way back to Hawaii in company with , , , and . The formation arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 23rd . The next day , " Burden R . Hastings " commenced a tour of duty under Commander , Submarine Training , Pacific ( ComSubTrainPac ) . On 23 August , " Burden R . Hastings " sailed for San Francisco , escorting SS " Philippa " . Arriving on the last day of August , the destroyer escort unloaded ammunition and moored at the Hunters Point Naval Drydocks for a yard overhaul . On 26 October , the destroyer escort took on ammunition , and spent the next few days engaged in post - overhaul trials . On 6 November , " Burden R . Hastings " sailed for Hawaii as part of the escort for a 16 - ship convoy and arrived at Pearl Harbor ten days later . After an availability , the warship set course for the Marshalls on the 26th and arrived at Eniwetok on 4 December . For the remainder of December 1944 and for most of January 1945 , " Burden R . Hastings " escorted convoys between Eniwetok and Ulithi , in the Western Carolines . 1945 . During her stay at Ulithi on 12 January 1945 , the Japanese submarine " I - 36 " launched a kaiten ( manned torpedo ) attack against the anchorage . At 0654 that morning , one of the torpedoes struck and damaged the ammunition ship at anchor in Ulithi lagoon . Since the deed was thought to be the work of a midget submarine , all ASW - equipped ships - " Burden R . Hastings " included - conducted a thorough , but futile , search until late in the afternoon . Two weeks later , wreckage of what resembled the afterbody of a torpedo washed up on one of the islands ringing the lagoon . Leaving the Marshalls on 24 January 1945 with , " Burden R . Hastings " touched at Roi , Kwajalein , and Majuro where the Army transport picked up troops bound for Hawaii . After arriving at Pearl Harbor on 2 February , the destroyer escort commenced four months of work with carriers and submarines , planeguarding and participating in the training of the " fleet boats " as they worked up in Hawaiian waters . During the course of her planeguarding , she picked up the crews of several planes that had crashed . On 22 June , " Burden R . Hastings " departed Pearl Harbor with the rest of CortDiv 10 , the first time that the ships had operated together as a unit , escorting a convoy of transports to the Marshall Islands . Upon reaching Eniwetok on the 30th , the ship embarked upon a series of convoy - escort runs between Eniwetok and Ulithi , a routine which she maintained through July and into the first part of August . While returning from Ulithi to Eniwetok on 14 August , she learned of Japan ' s acceptance of the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration and agreement to surrender to the Allies . End - of - War deactivation . Reaching Eniwetok on 17 August 1945 , " Burden R . Hastings " remained inactive in the Marshalls until receiving orders to return to the United States for decommissioning . In company with and two other destroyer escorts , she sailed for Kwajalein on 11 September , rendezvoused there with the rest of the division , and left the Marshalls on 14 September bound for Pearl Harbor . Reaching Hawaii five days later , the destroyer escort pushed on to San Pedro , California . Reporting to the Commandant , 11th Naval District , for disposition on 29 September 1945 , " Burden R Hastings " was decommissioned on 25 October 1945 at Terminal Island , California ; and her name was struck from the Navy List on 13 November 1945 . She was sold to the National Metal and Steel Corp . , of Terminal Island , and was delivered to her purchaser on 1 February 1947 .