USS ''McAnn'' (DE-179) is a retired built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She served in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s. As ''Bauru'' she is preserved by the Brazilian Navy at Rio de Janeiro.

Namesake

Donald Roy McAnn was born on 23 June 1911 in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

. He enlisted in the

on 16 August 1932. During the early months of World War II he served on as a gunner's mate first class. On 26 October 1942 U.S. carrier task forces fought a numerically superior Japanese force in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands. During the air battle, he took valuable photographs from an exposed position on the forward port .50 caliber

gun mount A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...

. In addition he rendered assistance to the gun crew and displayed outstanding courage without regard for his own safety. While relieving one of the gunners, he was struck by an exploding bomb fragment and fatally wounded. He was buried at sea. He was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

Construction and commissioning

The ship was laid down by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.New York on 11 October 1943.

World War II Atlantic Ocean operations

After shakedown off

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

, ''McAnn'' operated along the east coast from

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, to Charleston, South Carolina, until 19 December 1943 when she departed Norfolk, Virginia, on a convoy escort run to the Panama Canal Zone. She reached

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on th ...

on 26 December, thence sailed the 31st for duty out of Key West, Florida. Arriving there on 3 January 1944, she for the next several weeks with the Fleet Sound School and trained sailors in

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

techniques. Assigned to

Escort Division The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the worl ...

24, ''McAnn'' sailed for the Caribbean on 29 February. Steaming via

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, she joined Convoy TJ-25 on 5 March and screened the ships through stormy seas en route to

Recife, Brazil That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...

. On the 15th she rescued the entire crew of 10 men from a B-17 Flying Fortress which had splashed off the Brazilian coast the day before. ''McAnn'' arrived Recife on 16 March. Between 2 and 12 April ''McAnn'' cruised to Trinidad in the screen of Convoy JT-27, and during the next three months she completed three additional escort runs between the Caribbean and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. She completed this duty on 12 July and four days later departed Recife as screen for . She cruised the South Atlantic in search of German submarines until returning to Recife on 30 July.

Transfer and Brazilian service

''McAnn'' underwent an upkeep and then steamed to

Natal, Brazil Natal ( ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, located in northeastern Brazil. According to IBGE's 2021 estimate, the city had a total population o896,708 making it the 19th largest city in the country. Natal is a ...

, arriving on 10 August 1944. She decommissioned there on 15 August and was transferred, under

lend lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

, to Brazil on the same date. She was commissioned in the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...

on 16 August as ''Bauru''. She served on loan with Brazilian Navy until 30 June 1953 when she was retransferred to Brazil, permanently, under the Mutual Defense Assistance Pact.

References

External links

*
NGB – Contratorpedeiro de Escolta/Aviso Oceânico ''Bauru'' – Be 4/U-28/D-18
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAnn (DE-179) Cannon-class destroyer escorts of the United States Navy Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1943 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Bertioga-class destroyer escorts Cannon-class destroyer escorts of the Brazilian Navy World War II frigates of Brazil Destroyer escort ''Bauru'' (D-18) Museums in Rio de Janeiro (city)