USS Sanders (DE-40)

History
United States
Name	(BDE-40)
Builder	Puget Sound Navy Yard
Laid down	7 September 1942
Launched	18 June 1943
Commissioned	1 October 1943
Decommissioned	12 December 1945
Reclassified	(DE-40) 14 June 1943, USS Sanders, 16 June 1943
Stricken	8 January 1946
Fate	Sold for scrap, 8 May 1947
General characteristics
Class and type	Evarts class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,140 (std), 1,430 tons (full)
Length	289 ft 5 in (88.21 m) (oa), 283 ft 6 in (86.41 m) (wl)
Beam	35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Draft	11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) (max)
Propulsion	4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed	19 knots
Range	4,150 nm
Complement	15 officers / 183 enlisted
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) Mk 22 (1×3), 1 × 1.1"/75 caliber gun Mk 2 quad AA (4×1), 9 × 20 mm Mk 4 AA, 1 Hedgehog Projector, Mk 10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk 6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk 9 depth charge tracks

The second USS Sanders (DE-40) was an Evarts class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent to the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other shipping from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed dangerous work in major battle areas and was awarded four battle stars.

She was originally designated for transfer to the United Kingdom. As BDE-40, she was laid down on 7 September 1942 by the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington; named Sanders on 14 June 1943; reclassified DE-40 on 16 June 1943; launched on 18 June 1943; and commissioned on 1 October 1943.

Eugene Thomas Sanders was born on 15 March 1899 in Hubbard, Oregon. He enlisted in the United States Army on 16 June 1917, he was discharged on 13 February 1919. On 18 September 1919, he enlisted in the Navy and subsequently served on USS Brant from 4 December 1932 to 1 June 1934, on USS Finch from 30 August 1934 to 28 January 1936 at the naval station at Olongapo, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 29 January 1936 to 3 April 1937; and on USS Canopus from 6 April 1937 to 10 March 1938. On 7 May 1940, Chief Boatswain Sanders reported to USS Arizona. Appointed Ensign on 3 November 1941, he died on Arizona during the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

After shakedown, Sanders participated in patrol and escort duties in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands from January–July 1944, including a bombardment of Kusaie Island on 1 June. She then escorted support shipping to the Mariana Islands from August through October. Following patrol and escort duties in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands from November–March 1945, she guarded a logistics support group, supplying fast carrier task forces in the western Pacific, from April–June. Sailing via Pearl Harbor, she arrived at San Francisco, California, on 15 July for overhaul.

Remaining on the United States West Coast, she was decommissioned on 19 December 1945. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 January 1946, she was delivered, on 8 May 1947, to the National Metal and Steel Corp., Terminal Island, California, and scrapped in 1948.

	American Campaign Medal
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with four service stars)
	World War II Victory Medal

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Sanders (DE-40)