USS Charles Ausburne ( DD - 570 ) USS " Charles Ausburne " ( DD - 570 ) , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Charles L . Ausburne , a sailor in World War I who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross . " Charles Ausburne " was launched 16 March 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corporation , Orange , Tex . ; sponsored by Mrs . W . H . Cotten ; and commissioned 24 November 1942 , Lieutenant Commander L . K . Reynolds in command . " Charles Ausburne " ' s first mission which took place between 1 April and 8 May 1943 was to escort a convoy from New York to Casablanca , returning with another . At Boston on 11 May , she joined Destroyer Squadron 23 upon its activation , and was assigned as flagship for Destroyer Division 45 . Guadalcanal and Solomon Islands campaigns . Sailing to the Pacific she arrived at Nouméa , New Caledonia , 28 June 1943 to begin a summer of patrol and escort duties supporting the conquest of Guadalcanal , guarding convoys to that island , and between such ports as Efate and Espiritu Santo . From 27 August , she was based at Port Purvis , where she was part of a striking force designed to interrupt the passage of the " Tokyo Express " , the nightly runs of Japanese destroyers evacuating troops from the Solomons to Bougainville and New Britain . Her first patrol " up the Slot " on the night of 27 – 28 August , was uneventful , and her first contact with the enemy came on 7 September , when her group came under enemy air attack . During this time , she guarded the movement of transports and LST s redeploying men in the Solomons , and took part in experiments with night fighters . It was on the night of 27 – 28 September 1943 that the enemy first felt " Charles Ausburne " ' s accurate fire , when she sank two barges in the waters off Vella Lavella . Early in October , she returned to Espiritu Santo for replenishment and training , and here on 23 October the squadron ' s most famous Commander , Captain Arleigh A . Burke , broke his pennant in " Charles Ausburne " . Under his command , the " Little Beavers " , as he nicknamed the squadron , were to win an immortal place in naval history , recognized by the awarding of the Presidential Unit Citation . Their continual series of operations against Japanese naval forces and shore installations played a large part in the winning of the Solomon Islands , and " Charles Ausburne " was in the thickest action from 31 October 1943 to 23 February 1944 . Her support of the invasion of Bougainville began on the night of 31 October 1943 , when her task force sortied from Port Purvis to neutralize the Japanese airfields at Buka with heavy gunfire . " Charles Ausburne " fired on shore batteries here and on the Shortlands , which the task force passed on its way south to refuel . In the early morning of 1 November , troops stormed ashore at Empress Augusta Bay , and word was received of the movement of four Japanese cruiser s and six destroyers south from Rabaul to attack the transports off Bougainville . Immediately , " Charles Ausburne " and her force put north to meet and engage the enemy . First contact was made at 02 : 27 , 2 November , when the targets were clear on the flagship ' s radar , and " Charles Ausburne " and three other " Little Beavers " maneuvered for a torpedo attack , which the Japanese evaded . Next , they finished off , already blazing from the attack of American cruisers , then sped at 32 knots to close on . With joining in the attack , " Charles Ausburne " sank the enemy destroyer , then dashed to the assistance of torpedo - damaged whom she escorted back to Purvis Bay at the close of this Battle of Empress Augusta Bay . Through the remainder of November , " Charles Ausburne " patrolled and conducted bombardments in the Bougainville area , several times escorting resupply echelons to that island . Devastating fire poured on to the Japanese airfield at Bonis , and antiaircraft actions were fought off the beachheads , as the squadron was almost constantly underway . On 24 November 1943 , while the squadron refueled in Harborn Sound , orders came to intercept Japanese forces believed to be moving down to evacuate men from Buka . Immediately , the five American destroyers then composing the squadron moved north to search the Rabaul - Buka line , and at 01 : 41 on 25 November , a radar surface contact was made as the squadron patrolled in St . George Channel . " Charles Ausburne " with two others headed in for a torpedo attack on two Japanese destroyers as Burke ' s two remaining destroyers provided cover . Hits disintegrated , and broke in two . Quickly as the covering ships polished " Makinami " off , " Charles Ausburne " and the others turned to attack three destroyer transports now visible , who turned and fled with the American destroyers in pursuit . At 02 : 15 , acting on sound estimate , Captain Burke ordered his ships to make a sharp change of course to the right to evade torpedoes . Just a minute later came the slam of torpedoes exploding in the wake of his ships . Now the " Little Beavers " opened fire on the fleeing enemy , while maneuvering to avoid return fire . As the three targets took divergent courses , " Charles Ausburne " continued her pursuit of , hitting her repeatedly . Soon blazing from stem to stern , the Japanese ship made a last desperate attempt to open the range but was quickly overhauled and sunk . Approaching daylight now made it imperative that the squadron withdraw to put distance between themselves and the Japanese airbase at Rabaul . Thus ended the classic destroyer battle of Cape St . George . Three enemy ships had been sunk and another badly damaged , while no damage was received by the American ships . Through December 1943 , " Charles Ausburne " continued her patrol , escort , antiaircraft , and bombardment duties in support of the Bougainville operation . After brief overhaul in Australia she returned to the northern Solomons 30 January 1944 , and on 3 February sailed for action once more , fighting off a heavy Japanese air attack to break through for a bombardment mission on the northern coast of Bougainville . A series of patrols to cover the landings on Green Island and many searches for enemy surface craft were conducted , along with a punishing bombardment of Kavieng Harbor on 18 February . The enemy ' s port facilities , airstrip , and supply dump were almost completely destroyed in this attack . From 20 February to 24 February 1944 , the squadron swept the waters of New Ireland for Japanese shipping , sinking a tug , a coastal minelayer , a small freighter , and many barges , then returned to escorting amphibious craft until 5 March , when they sailed on a patrol north of the Bismarcks . Mariana Islands campaigns . On 26 March 1944 , " Charles Ausburne " joined the 5th Fleet at sea , and next day Captain Burke left the ship to assume new responsibilities as Chief of Staff to the Commander , Fast Carrier Task Force , Admiral Marc Mitscher . With the powerful carrier striking force ( then called Task Force 58 , but called TF 38 when part of 3rd Fleet ) , " Charles Ausburne " sailed for air strikes in the Palaus and on Yap , Ulithi , and Woleai between 30 March and 1 April , then replenished at Majuro . Later in the month she sailed with the group formed around , screening as the carrier offered direct air support during the landings at Hollandia , and launched strikes against Truk and Ponape . Returning to Majuro , " Charles Ausburne " joined in exercises preparing for the next great operation , the assault upon the Marianas . On this mission , " Charles Ausburne " was at sea from 6 June to 6 July 1944 , primarily steaming in the screen guarding the carriers of TF 58 as they repeatedly struck Tinian , Saipan , Pagan , Guam , and Iwo Jima . This neutralization of enemy airfields and island defenses made feasible the series of landings in the Marianas . " Charles Ausburne " also bombarded shore defenses on Guam , and screened USS " Essex " while the carrier hurled strikes at Saipan to support the initial landings on Guam and the advancing troops on Saipan . Philippines and Okinawa campaigns . After overhaul on the west coast , " Charles Ausburne " returned to Ulithi 5 November 1944 , and through the remainder of November guarded carriers providing air cover for convoys to Leyte . Heavy air action came in December , when from 19 December to 24 December , the destroyer led the first resupply convoy from San Pedro Bay to Mindoro . On 21 December , four separate raids , one of which included kamikaze s , met the fire of the screening destroyers , and more raids were fought off as the convoy unloaded . Continuing her support of the return to the Philippines , " Charles Ausburne " screened transports from San Pedro Bay , sailing 4 January 1945 , north for Lingayen Gulf . On 7 January , the escort fought off an enemy air attack , and later , " Charles Ausburne " , with three other destroyers , sped off to investigate a radar contact . It was , quickly sunk with all hands by effective fire of the four American ships . On 9 January and 10 January , she shielded the assault landings , then hurled 5 - inch shells ashore to aid advancing troops . Returning to San Pedro 15 January , " Charles Ausburne " began 2 months of convoy escort and patrol duty to Lingayen , and around San Pedro Bay . Through late March and April 1945 , the destroyer screened landings at Panay and Negros , and provided night illumination and call - fire support at both Negroes and Parang on Mindanao . On 13 May , she sailed from San Pedro Bay to rejoin the 5th Fleet and on 16 May reached Okinawa ' s Hagushi anchorage . After a period of antisubmarine patrol , during which she twice drove off enemy air attack , she protected landings at Aguni Shima , and on 23 June , received her first assignment to the inferno of radar picket duty , which she survived without damage . She remained on patrol off Okinawa through the remainder of the war . " Charles Ausburne " left Okinawa 10 September 1945 , and arrived at Washington , D . C . , 17 October to receive her Presidential Unit Citation . After a visit to New York , she reached Charleston , South Carolina , where she was placed out of commission in reserve 18 April 1946 . German destroyer " Zerstörer 6 " . On 12 April 1960 " Charles Ausburne " was transferred to the Federal Republic of Germany , with whom she served as Zerstörer 6 ( " Destroyer No . 6 " ) , NATO designation " D180 " . She was stricken from the US Navy List on 1 December 1967 . " Zerstörer 6 " was stricken from the German Navy in October 1968 , and scrapped . Awards . In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation awarded her squadron , " Charles Ausburne " received 11 battle star s for World War II service . Notes . Since other family members spelled their name as " Ausburn " , the first ship followed that spelling . It was later found that he himself signed as " Ausburne " , and the second ship ' s name was so spelled .