USS ''Rinehart'' (DE-196) was a 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

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

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. The ship entered the reserves after the end of the war, and in 1950 was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, where she served under the name ''De Bitter'' until 1967. She was sold for scrap in 1968.

Namesake

Clark Franklin Rinehart was born on 30 May 1910 in Ridgeway, Missouri. He enlisted in the

U.S. Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

on 30 April 1937, was appointed aviation cadet on 22 July 1937, designated naval aviator on 8 June 1938, appointed ensign for aviation duties in the

ranking from 1 August 1938, commissioned ensign in the

ranking from 1 June 1939; and appointed lieutenant (junior grade) for temporary service ranking from 1 November 1941. He was assigned successively to the

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; Bombing Squadron 2 on board ; and Fighting Squadron 2 again on board ''Lexington''. He disappeared during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 8 May 1942 piloting a Grumman F4F Wildcat in heavy combat in ''Lexington'''s VF-2 section (section-named "Doris White") along with the second pilot in VF-2, Newton H. Mason. Both Rinehart's and Newton's fates are unknown. Rinehart attacked the Japanese carrier ''Shōhō'' and its complement of destroyers with ''Lexington'''s air group on 7 May 1942, the day before being killed in action, and was previously credited with strafing and damaging a surfaced Japanese submarine. Rinehart was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Construction

The ship was laid down by the

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Gov ...

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 12 February 1944. Later this ship was commanded by future football coach

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...

World War II North Atlantic operations

Following

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

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 ...

and brief service as a

school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

out of Norfolk, Virginia, ''Rinehart'' commenced her primary work as a convoy escort when she sailed to New York on 8 May 1944 to pick up the New York section of a

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

-bound convoy. Arriving Bizerte,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, on 1 June, she steamed for New York nine days later with a return convoy. She made a second voyage from Norfolk to Bizerte and back to New York between 24 July to 7 September. ''Rinehart'' cleared New York on 14 October 1944 for the first of five convoy escort voyages to ports in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. She sailed from New York to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and back (14 October to 9 November 1944); from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, to Plymouth, England, to New York (2 to 31 December 1944); from New York to Liverpool and back (18 January to 14 February 1945); from Boston to

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, France, and Southampton, England, and back to New York (8 March to 4 April 1945); and from Boston to Gourock, Scotland, and back to New York (24 April to 19 May 1945). During this last voyage, she rescued a man overboard from merchant tanker on 1 May.

Transfer to the Pacific Theatre

After an overhaul, ''Rinehart'' cleared New York with the rest of Escort Division 55 for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Continuing on to the Pacific, she transited the Panama Canal on 1 July, and, after a stop at San Diego, California, arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 July. Following training in Hawaiian waters, ''Rinehart'' sailed from Pearl Harbor on 8 August 1945 as escort for an Eniwetok-bound convoy. She delivered her charges safely at that port on 16 August and was assigned to patrol on the barrier line between the convoy lanes. She also served as ready duty ship and on 12 September recovered LCVP-3832 which was adrift off the island.

End-of-War activity

On 26 September 1945, ''Rinehart'' headed for Wake Island where she assumed radio and station ship duty upon her arrival the following day. She was relieved of this duty on 4 October and sailed back to Eniwetok by way of Bikini Atoll, Bikini where she replenished three YMS-1-class minesweeper, YMS class minesweepers stationed there. The escort revisited Bikini during 19–21 October for a similar mission, then returned to Wake Island on 24 October 1945 to serve as port director and radio ship. During heavy weather on the 28th and 29th, ''Rinehart'' barely avoided joining on a coral reef. Her mooring buoys were ripped loose, but skillful maneuvering enabled her to stay clear and aid the merchant ship get off the reef and into safe water to ride out the storm. ''Rinehart'' put to sea from Wake Island on 1 December 1945 and embarked Navy passengers at Eniwetok Atoll for transportation to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 15 December 1945. After acting as weather station ship off Pearl Harbor, she got underway from that port on 2 February for the east coast of the United States.

Return to the East Coast

Steaming in company with , she touched at San Pedro, Los Angeles, transited the Panama Canal on 1 March, and arrived in the Boston Navy Yard on 7 March 1946. She cleared Boston Harbor with ''Thornhill'' on 13 April and reported for inactivation at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 16 April 1946.

Post-War decommissioning

She remained in inactive status until 17 July 1946 when she decommissioned and was assigned to the Florida Group of the U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet. ''Rinehart'' was transferred to the Netherlands under terms of the Military Assistance Program on 1 June 1950. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register, Navy List on 26 September 1950. She served in the Royal Netherlands Navy as HNLMS ''De Bitter'' (F807) until retired in December 1967 and sold in February 1968 for scrapping.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rinehart (DE-196) Cannon-class destroyer escorts of the United States Navy Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1944 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Netherlands Navy