USS Straub ( DE - 181 ) USS " Straub " ( DE - 181 ) was a built for the United States Navy during World War II . She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys . She was laid down on 7 June 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . , at Newark , New Jersey . Sponsored by Mrs . Margaret H . Straub , the escort was launched on 19 September and commissioned on 25 October 1943 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard , Lt . Comdr . James T . Kilbreth , USNR , in command . World War II Atlantic Ocean operations . " Straub " remained in New York until 11 November , then departed for Great Sound Bay , Bermuda , and shakedown . The shakedown exercises in waters around Bermuda lasted for approximately one month , and " Straub " returned to New York on 13 December . There she joined elements of Convoy UGS - 28 , escorted them to Norfolk , Virginia , and thence across the Atlantic as far as the Azores . The convoy arrived at Bahia Angra , Terceira , Azores , on 8 January 1944 ; and " Straub " conducted antisubmarine patrols among the islands until detached on 16 January to join Task Group TG 21 . 11 in screening escort aircraft carrier to Casablanca . The task group made Casablanca on 25 January and , the same day , " Straub " began her voyage home . She arrived at New York on 6 February and began a period of availability which lasted until her embarkation on the 20th for Recife , Pernambuco , Brazil . As a part of the antisubmarine screen of Task Group TG 27 . 2 , she was reunited with " Mission Bay " as escort to her and . The task group called at Recife , where " Straub " reported for duty with the U . S . 4th Fleet , and then moved on to Rio de Janeiro , entering port on the 7th . " Straub " was detached the next day and steamed out of Rio de Janeiro bound for Montevideo , Uruguay . Searching for German Submarines . " Straub " put in at Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil , for three days and , instead of making for Montevideo , visited Bahia , Brazil , from 17 to 28 March . From there , she put to sea and joined TG 41 . 6 on the 31st . Led by escort carrier , " Straub " and the rest of TG 41 . 6 plied the ocean searching for enemy submarines until 12 April . The task group returned to Recife for two days and sortied on 14 April for another U - boat hunt . This second patrol , on 14 to 30 April , and the third , from 4 to 20 May , were both fruitless . After an 11 - day repair period at Recife , " Straub " exited the harbor with TG 41 . 6 on 31 May 1944 for their fourth patrol . Recovering German U - Boat survivors . At the end of two weeks of quiet cruising , " Straub " picked up a report of a submarine sighting sent by one of " Solomons " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > pilots . In company with , she sped off to the U - boat ' s reported position to initiate a box search and engage the marauder if possible . In the meantime , six other planes found the submarine , attacked , and sank her . That evening , " Straub " entered the area of the sinking to pick up survivors . She was able to recover the submarine ' s commanding officer , her executive officer , and 18 other crewmen . Late that night , she was forced by darkness to give up the search for Lt . ( jg . ) Chamberlain , the pilot whose depth charges had finished off both the U - boat and his own aircraft . The prisoners were transferred to " Solomons " on the next day , 16 June , and TG 41 . 6 returned to Recife on the 23rd . " Straub " continued patrols with " Solomons " and TG 41 . 6 until 22 August . At that time , she joined TG 41 . 7 and carrier and patrolled out of Recife for U - boats until sailing for New York on 15 November . The escort remained in New York from 26 November to 27 December . She then moved via Key West , Florida , to Trinidad . There , between 11 and 30 January 1945 , she participated in various tests and exercises . Visiting Montevideo , Uruguay . Returning to Recife on 30 January , she stayed in that port until 5 February when she got underway to escort on an official visit to Montevideo , Uruguay . " Straub " escorted her back to Recife between 22 to 28 March and sailed the next day for New York , arriving on 8 April . Following a week ' s availability at New York , she set sail for Casco Bay , Maine , where she arrived on 15 April . From there , " Straub " set out for antisubmarine patrols in which she was engaged until 8 May . On that date , the escort reported at New London , Connecticut , for two weeks ' duty as a target ship for submarine exercises off New London . Convoy Operations to North Africa . Moving from New London to Norfolk , Virginia , " Straub " joined convoy UGS - 94 as part of its antisubmarine screen . She sailed with the convoy all the way to Mers El Kébir , Algeria , and , after stopping along the way at Horta in the Azores , returned to the United States on 19 June 1945 . She underwent repairs at Boston , Massachusetts , from 19 June to 25 July and , after exercises out of Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , sailed westward . She transited the Panama Canal on 13 and 14 August and arrived in San Diego , California , on the 24th . During her passage from Panama , Japan capitulated . Transition to the Pacific Theatre at War ' s End . Three days later , she sailed from San Diego , rendezvoused with , and escorted her to Hawaii . Upon arrival in Pearl Harbor on 4 September 1945 , " Straub " was employed in various patrols and as an escort to carriers conducting flight operations . On 4 November , she was assigned duty as a weather station vessel in the Hawaii area . She spent just over two months alternating between Pearl Harbor and weather station duty . Post - War Inactivation and Decommissioning . " Straub " weighed anchor on 12 January 1946 , transited the Panama Canal on 26 and 27 January , and arrived at New York on 1 February . At the completion of pre - inactivation overhaul , she sailed from New York on 20 February bound for Green Cove Springs , Florida , and there remained with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until October 1958 when she was shifted to Charleston , South Carolina . " Straub " was struck from the Navy List in 1 August 1973 , sold on 17 July 1974 and subsequently scrapped . In film . A semi - fictional " DE - 181 " was portrayed in the 1957 film " The Enemy Below " , starring Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens . Named " Haynes " in the film , she was portrayed by the .