USS Weber ( DE - 675 ) USS " Weber " ( DE - 675 / APD - 75 ) was a of the United States Navy , named in honor of Ensign Frederick T . Weber ( 1916 – 1942 ) , a naval aviator who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for heroism during the Battle of Midway . " Weber " was laid down on 22 February 1943 at Quincy , Massachusetts , by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company ' s Fore River Shipyard ; launched on 1 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Matt A . Walsh ; and commissioned on 30 June 1943 , Commander Rollo N . Norgaard in command . World War II . The destroyer escort completed fitting out and then departed Provincetown , Massachusetts , on 23 July for Bermuda . At the conclusion of shakedown training in waters surrounding those islands , she returned north and arrived in Boston , Massachusetts , on 21 August . Following post - shakedown availability , the new warship left Boston for several days of additional training — in antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) tactics — out of New London , Connecticut . Upon completing that assignment , " Weber " entered New York harbor to prepare for her first combat duty . Atlantic service as DE - 675 . On 5 September , the warship stood out of New York in the screen of a transatlantic convoy . Following a relatively uneventful voyage , she and her charges entered port at Derry , Northern Ireland , on the 16th . There , she remained until the 21st , when she headed back across the Atlantic with a return convoy . She ended that voyage at St . John ' s , Newfoundland , on 1 October but , soon thereafter , moved to New York for a 10 - day availability at the Brooklyn Navy Yard . In mid - October , " Weber " escorted a convoy from New York to the Dutch island of Curaçao , off the coast of Venezuela . She arrived in Willemstad on 24 October and remained there five days awaiting the formation of a transatlantic convoy . This group of Allied ships departed Curaçao on 29 October and set a course for the British Isles and arrived in Derry on Armistice Day 1943 . At that point , " Weber " settled into a routine of escorting convoys between Derry and New York which lasted until August 1944 . By that time , she had made six more round - trip voyages between those ports . On many occasions during the period , she and her consorts in the screen made sonar and radar contacts on unidentified ships . While on such occasions they frequently attacked the strangers with depth charge s , " Weber " and her sister escorts directed their greatest efforts to diverting their transport s and cargo ship s from the paths of U - boat s . When doing so , they informed nearby hunter - killer groups of the location of the contacts and delegated to them primary responsibility for offensive antisubmarine warfare . As a result , confirmed U - boat kills eluded " Weber " ; but she and the other escorts in the screens accomplished their primary mission of shepherding the convoys safely across the ocean . On 7 August , she departed Derry for the last time . Her convoy arrived safely in New York on the 20th and , after voyage repairs , the warship began preparations to embark upon a new but brief phase in her wartime career . After the Allied forces which invaded Europe in June established control over the coast of France , convoys no longer needed to travel the long northern route around Ireland to avoid enemy aircraft and submarines based on that coast . Instead , they now could use the shorter and more economical route around the southern coast of England directly to the French channel ports , primary among which was Cherbourg . In September , " Weber " made one round - trip voyage to Cherbourg ; then returned to the United States via that route and arrived back at New York near the end of the month . After a 10 - day availability and four days of exercises , the ship proceeded to Norfolk , Virginia to join a convoy bound for North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea . She departed Norfolk with the convoy on 21 October . En route to Gibraltar , she rescued the crew of a Portuguese fishing vessel damaged badly in a collision with " Weber " during an investigation of the then - unidentified vessel . Soon after the rescue , the Portuguese vessel sank . After landing the fishermen at Gibraltar , " Weber " continued on to Bizerte , Tunisia , where she stopped on 12 November , and thence proceeded to Palermo , Sicily , for repairs to damage sustained in the collision with the Portuguese trawler . She rejoined her escort group at Oran , Algeria , and embarked upon the return voyage on 23 November . " Weber " escorted one section of the attached convoy into Philadelphia , Pennsylvania on 10 December . Pacific service as APD - 75 . Five days after her arrival in Philadelphia , " Weber " was redesignated a high - speed transport and received a new hull number , APD - 75 . Conversion work on her began immediately . During the following three months , she exchanged her 3 - inch battery for a new 5 - inch , dual - purpose gun which had proven highly effective both for antiaircraft defense and for bombardment work . In addition , her relatively weak antiaircraft battery was beefed up substantially . Her spaces were modified to provide a place for underwater demolition team s ( UDT ) and their equipment . Her conversion indicated an impending reassignment to the Pacific theater where the UDT men played an important role in the initial stages of amphibious operation s . She completed her conversion in mid - March 1945 . During the latter part of the month , she moved to Norfolk where she practiced shore bombardments and antiaircraft defense . On 14 April , she departed Norfolk . Arriving at Panama on the 19th , she transited the Panama Canal the following day and reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet . Continuing her voyage , the warship stopped briefly at San Diego , California and then headed for the Hawaiian Islands . She arrived in Pearl Harbor on 8 May and underwent a brief period of voyage repairs . During the middle part of May , she conducted reconnaissance and demolition exercises at Kahoolawe , Maui , with members of UDT 23 . After a short series of refresher training and antisubmarine warfare exercises , she departed Oahu on the 24th for the western Pacific . She entered the lagoon at Eniwetok on 1 June , remained for a day due to a fueling delay , and then continued on to Ulithi where she arrived on 6 June . On 13 June , " Weber " departed Ulithi to escort to Okinawa where the battleship was needed to render gunfire support to American forces subduing the defenders on the southern portion of the island . The task unit arrived off the island four days later . Following a short time at Hagushi anchorage , " Weber " put into the roadstead at Kerama Retto for fuel . On 25 June , she was assigned to a surface force built around battleships " California " and , and cruiser s , , , , and . Serving as antisubmarine and mine escort for that unit , she patrolled the waters around Okinawa until 1 July , protecting communications and supply lines . She returned to Hagushi for a week on 1 July and departed the Ryūkyūs on the 8th in the screen of a convoy bound for the Marianas . Delivering her charges safely at Saipan on 12 July , she continued her voyage the following day and arrived at San Pedro Bay , Leyte , on the 17th . She spent the remaining weeks of World War II at Leyte engaged in training exercises in preparation for the expected invasion of the Japanese home islands . Fortunately , the Japanese agreed to surrender terms on 15 August , making that operation unnecessary . Post - war service . Soon after the cessation of hostilities , " Weber " returned to Okinawa to prepare for the occupation of Japanese territory . She arrived back in the Ryukyus on 21 August and reported for duty with Task Force 95 ( TF 95 ) . She trained briefly with that task organization at Okinawa until 7 September when she reported for duty with TF 55 . On 10 September , she departed the Ryukyus with Task Unit 55 . 7 . 1 ( TU 55 . 7 . 1 ) bound for Japan . She and her colleagues arrived at Nagasaki the following day and began two weeks of service evacuating and caring for former Allied prisoners of war held in Japan . She completed that assignment on 23 September and returned to Okinawa on the 25th . On 7 October , the warship put to sea once more , this time bound for Tsingtao and Taku in northern China with a convoy carrying marines for duty ashore there . Typhoon Louise — a severe storm which devastated Allied forces at Okinawa — scattered the little flotilla and damaged some of the ships , forcing " Weber " to return to Okinawa as an escort for the more severely damaged ones . She rejoined the remainder of the convoy just before mid - month and escorted a portion of it into Taku on 16 October . The next day , she got underway for the Philippines with two American merchant ships which she saw safely to Okinawa before breaking off and continuing on to Luzon . The ship arrived in Manila on 23 October and , after discharging about 100 passengers , headed back to China . During the month of November , she shuttled Nationalist Chinese troops from Hong Kong to strife - torn northern China . She concluded that duty at Tsingtao on 25 November and sailed for the East Coast of the United States that same day . Steaming via Okinawa , Guam , and Eniwetok , she arrived in Pearl Harbor on 13 December . On the 16th , she resumed her voyage home and arrived in San Diego on the 22d . Following a week ' s layover , she left San Diego and set course for the Panama Canal . The warship transited the canal between 7 and 9 January 1946 and headed for New York on the latter date . She entered the New York Naval Shipyard on 15 January , discharged passengers , and began her preinactivation overhaul . On 18 February , she departed New York and , after a two - day stop at Norfolk , Virginia , arrived in Green Cove Springs , Florida , on the 23d . There , she reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet for layup . Placed out of commission by directive in January 1947 , " Weber " remained inactive for more than 15 years . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 June 1960 ; and , a little over two years later , she was sunk as a target on 15 July 1962 , by AGM - 12 " Bullpup " air - to - surface ( ASM ) missile s . " Weber " earned one battle star during World War II .