USS Bull ( DE - 693 ) USS " Bull " ( DE - 693 / APD - 78 ) was a , later converted to a " Charles Lawrence " - class high speed transport . She was the second Navy ship named after Lieutenant ( junior grade ) Richard Bull ( 1914 – 1942 ) , a naval aviator who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . " Bull " was the first of many destroyer escorts built at Defoe Shipbuilding Company , of Bay City , Michigan . The hull of " Bull " was constructed in the conventional fashion while the jigs and fittings were constructed in order to build the rest of the ships in a new upside - down method that Defoe pioneered . " Bull " was launched on 25 March 1943 at the Defoe yard ; sponsored by Mrs . Ruth P . Bull , widow of Lt . ( jg ) Bull . She was commissioned 12 August 1943 , Lt . D . W . Farnham , USNR , in command . USS " Bull " ( DE - 693 ) . Following her shakedown training out of Bermuda , " Bull " escorted the Army transport USAT " George Washington " to Norfolk , Virginia , and then continued on to Boston , Massachusetts , where she arrived on 4 October 1943 for post - shakedown availability . The destroyer escort touched briefly at New York City ; proceeded thence to Curaçao , in the Dutch West Indies , and then headed across the Atlantic to Derry , Northern Ireland , on her first convoy - escort mission . Following her return to New York on 9 December , " Bull " operated out of Cape Cod Bay through the end of 1943 with Fleet Air , Atlantic , towing targets used by Navy planes practicing radar and dive - bombing tactics . " Bull " was then assigned to Escort Division 19 ( CortDiv 19 ) ; at this time , consisting of the destroyer escorts " Bull " , , , , , and . " Bull " returned to New York on 3 January 1944 where she joined Task Group 21 . 9 ( TG 21 . 9 ) and headed back to Derry on 9 January . She reached that port 10 days later and remained there for a little over a week . After putting to sea again on 27 January bound for New York , the warship encountered heavy seas a day out of port and began shipping a lot of water . Some of the water found its way into her number two engine room through an exhaust blower duct , which shorted out a circuit and caused a fire . Fortunately , her crewmen put out the blaze before it caused serious damage . While the destroyer escort battled her way through a hurricane on 3 February , ammunition tumbled from storage racks that had been torn loose by the storm and caused a few anxious moments before it was battened down . High winds and heavy seas also loosened the grips holding the ship ' s motor whaleboat in place and jostled the foremast so much so that it required a strengthening jury rig . Finally the storm - battered warship reached New York on 9 February . Following an availability at New York , " Bull " conducted refresher training out of Casco Bay , Maine , before proceeding to Boston to pick up another transatlantic convoy . Departing Boston on 28 February , she shepherded her charges across the U - boat - infested ocean to Belfast , Northern Ireland , where she arrived on 8 March . She returned to New York on 25 March , she conducted one additional round - trip transatlantic convoy escort cycle that spring and returned to Boston on 1 May . After an availability at the New York Navy Yard , she escorted one additional convoy to England between 12 and 23 May , and remained in the British Isles with the naval forces gathering for the cross - channel invasion of France . Instead of supporting the landings on Normandy ' s beaches , however , " Bull " joined the escort of a convoy back to the United States . " Bull " escorted one more convoy to England and then returned to the United States with TG 21 . 9 in July . On 24 July 1944 , while en route to New York , the destroyer escort picked up what she interpreted as submarine noises and promptly sent depth charge s and hedgehog projectiles into the depths from which the sounds had come . No evidence of a " kill " appeared after the attack , so the destroyer escort rejoined her charges and reached New York with them on 27 July . USS " Bull " ( APD - 78 ) . Mooring at the Todd Shipyards Corp . the next day , " Bull " began her conversion to a fast transport . Redesignated APD - 78 on 31 July 1944 and reconfigured to berth troops amidships and to carry their associated gear , the warship lost her " main battery " of three guns and received a single gun , in an enclosed mount forward . Newer , heavier 40 mm Bofors anti - aircraft guns replaced the older mount . Getting underway in her new guise on 26 October 1944 and heading for Norfolk , " Bull " carried out her shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay region under the aegis of the Amphibious Training Forces , Atlantic Fleet . After clearing the Virginia Capes on 7 November , the warship transited the Panama Canal on 13 November and proceeded — via San Diego and San Pedro , California — to Pearl Harbor . There , she embarked Underwater Demolition Team - 14 ( UDT - 14 ) on 7 December and sailed four days later , via Eniwetok and Ulithi , to the Palaus , the staging area for the invasion of Luzon . " Bull " sortied on New Year ' s Day 1945 with the beach demolition group . Proceeding via the Surigao Strait , Mindanao Sea , and the South China Sea to Lingayen Gulf , the fast transport and her companions suffered nearly continuous attacks by Japanese kamikaze planes bent on destroying themselves and their targets . On " S 2 " day , " Bull " provided fire support for the reconnaissance of the San Fabian sector of Lingayen Gulf , earning praise from the commander of her embarked UDT for her " excellent and accurate " gunfire that kept enemy fire to a minimum . During her time in Lingayen Gulf , " Bull " experienced some " close shaves " . On one occasion , antiaircraft fire slapped down a suicider bent on crashing her just short of her side . Another time , a bomb landed less than away on her starboard quarter . While retiring from Lingayen Gulf to Leyte as part of Task Unit 77 . 15 . 5 ( TU 77 . 15 . 5 ) , " Bull " watched an American plane crash on nearby Siguijori Island thought to be occupied by the Japanese . Detached to rescue the pilot , " Bull " , guided by two Vought F4U s , proceeded to the area and found the plane off the beach on the northwest side of the island . Sending armed landing parties in two of her boats , " Bull " soon spotted crowds of native Filipinos coming out to greet the American sailors . The fast transport ' s men quickly learned that Filipino forces had driven the Japanese invaders from the island in November . She took the injured pilot on board , treated his wounds , and then sent him off in a PBY . After a brief stop at Leyte , Bull reached Ulithi to prepare for the invasion of Iwo Jima . On 10 February 1945 , she cleared the Carolines as part of TG 52 . 4 , the Underwater Demolition Group of the Amphibious Support Force , Task Force 52 ( TF 52 ) . She headed , via Saipan , to Iwo Jima and arrived there three days before the landing . " Bull " took part in the reconnaissance of both preferred and alternate beaches and drew Japanese fire several times , yet she escaped without damage on each occasion , despite several near misses . After " D day " , " Bull " operated as a screening vessel , while her embarked UDT cleared beaches to facilitate the landing of supplies . Although the ship ' s company suffered no casualties , one of UDT - 14 ' s officers was killed when a Japanese shore battery sank the LCI in which he had embarked for gunfire spotting . Leaving Iwo Jima on 5 March , " Bull " headed for Ulithi to make ready for the next major American amphibious assault : the invasion of Okinawa . She arrived off that island on 26 March and , but for short runs to Saipan for upkeep , remained there until after all organized Japanese resistance had been wiped out some three months later . Her principal duties during the campaign were to support beach reconnaissance and to screen other Allied ships . While off Okinawa , she endured countless air raids , but no bullet or bomb ever touched her . On 4 June , while returning from Saipan , " Bull " encountered the fringes of a typhoon , which prompted the convoy to reverse course . Despite the course change , the ships in the formation experienced 70 knot ( 130 km / h ) winds and mountainous seas . The storm subsided by mid afternoon ; and , with no ships reporting any damage , the group resumed its course to Okinawa and arrived there on 8 June . " Bull " spent the rest of June on a screening station near Okinawa before sailing for Guam on 1 July . Continuing thence via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor , the fast transport reached San Pedro , California , where she conducted voyage repairs , refresher training , and UDT rehearsals for the invasion of the Japan . However , Japan ' s capitulation changed " Bull " s next mission from invasion to occupation . After moving from San Pedro to San Diego in mid - August 1945 , she sailed for the Marianas on 6 September and reached Guam on 2 October 1945 . Over the next few months , the fast transport operated in the Philippine Islands , under the control of Commander , Philippine Sea Frontier . Her ports of call included : Manila , Samar , Leyte , Subic Bay , and Manus in the Admiralties . She also visited Okinawa and made three voyages to China . Ending her shuttle service in the Far East , she departed Shanghai late in April 1946 and reached Pearl Harbor on 2 May . Three days later , she sailed with for southern California . " Bull " was decommissioned at San Diego on 5 June 1947 and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet there on 16 June . There , she remained for almost two decades . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 15 June 1966 . ROCS " Lu Shan " ( PF - 36 ) . She was sold to Taiwan on 12 July 1966 . The ship served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS " Lu Shan " ( PF - 36 ) . " Lu Shan " was struck by the Taiwanese Navy in May 1995 and broken up for scrap . Awards . " Bull " received three battle star s for her World War II service .