The first USS ''Laub'' (DD-263) was a in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

where she served as HMS ''Burwell'' (H94) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was named for Henry Laub.

As USS ''Laub''

''Laub'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco-based shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917, it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuil ...

Squantum, Massachusetts Squantum is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, connected to the mainland by a causeway that crosses over a wetland area of the bay. Often thought of as a peninsula, Squantum proper is technically a barrier island as it is surrounded on all ...

, on 20 April 1918. The destroyer was launched on 28 August 1918, sponsored by Miss Marjorie Mohan, a collateral descendant of Henry Laub. The ship was commissioned on 17 March 1919. Assigned to the Atlantic destroyer force out of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, ''Laub'' was dispatched 2 to 17 May 1919 to take up position off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

as plane guard, and navigational aid during the

NC-4 The NC-4 is a Curtiss NC flying boat that was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, albeit not non-stop. The NC designation was derived from the collaborative efforts of the Navy (N) and Curtiss (C). The NC series flying boats we ...

transatlantic flight. The destroyer continued exercises off the east coast until 30 June when she sailed for European service. Arriving Brest 17 July, ''Laub'' operated with the fleet off

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

until she sailed late in August for duty in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Upon arrival at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

2 September, ''Laub'' operated with the Food Commission, bringing relief to Europe. She sailed for America on the 17th, arriving New York City 4 October. Her stay on the east coast was a brief one as she sailed 2 weeks later to join the Pacific Fleet, arriving

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

27 November. From December 1919 until she decommissioned 15 June 1922, ''Laub'' performed torpedo experiments and reserve training cruises along the Pacific coast. ''Laub'' recommissioned 18 December 1939. After shakedown out of San Diego, the destroyer arrived Guantanamo 7 April 1940 to join the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Neutrality patrol On September 3, 1939, the British and French declarations of war on Germany initiated the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) established a combined air and ship patrol of the United States Atlantic co ...

. Following 2 months' duty out of Guantanamo, she sailed to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, for patrol operations in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Following 4 months of operations in the gulf and along the Atlantic coast, ''Laub'' arrived at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, 5 September. She decommissioned there 8 October 1940.

As HMS ''Burwell''

''Laub'' was transferred to Great Britain the following day as part of the destroyer-bases agreement. During

she served in the

protecting Allied shipping in the North Atlantic under the name HMS ''Burwell''. As ''Burwell'' was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original

4"/50 caliber gun The 4″/50-caliber gun (spoken "four-inch-fifty-caliber") was the standard low-angle, quick-firing gun for the United States, first appearing on the monitor and then used on "Flush Deck" destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. It was also ...

s and one of the triple

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

stowage and installation of

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

.Lenton&Colledge (1968) pp.92-94 In this role ''Burwell'' was engaged in all the duties performed by escort ships; protecting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats which attacked ships in convoy, and rescuing survivors. In sixteen months service ''Burwell'' escorted 24 Atlantic and three Gibraltar convoys, of which seven were attacked, and she was involved in two major convoy battles; around SC 52 in November 1941 and KMS 10 in March 1943. A notable incident during this period was her involvement in the capture of the German U-boat ''

U-570 HMS ''Graph'' (pennant number P715) was a German Type VIIC U-boat captured and recommissioned by the British Royal Navy during World War II. Commissioned as ''U-570'' in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' in mid-1941, she was attacked and captu ...

'' in August 1941. In October 1943 ''Burwell'' was withdrawn to the Reserve and converted to an Air target Ship. She continued in this function until January 1945 when she was withdrawn completely and laid up. In March 1947 ''Burwell'' was sold for scrap.

Notes

References

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External links

Photo Gallery
at Navsource.org

at Naval Historical Center

at naval.history.net; retrieved 29 May 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Laub (Dd-263) Clemson-class destroyers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1918 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers converted from Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom