USS Bull (DE-693)

History
United States
NameUSS Bull (DE-693)
NamesakeRichard Bull
Ordered9 October 1942
BuilderDefoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan
Laid down15 December 1942 as Buckley-class destroyer escort
Launched23 March 1943
Commissioned12 August 1943
ReclassifiedAPD-78, 31 July 1944
Decommissioned5 June 1947
Stricken15 June 1966
Honors and
awards
3 battle stars (World War II)
FateSold to Taiwan, 12 July 1966
History
Taiwan
NameROCS Lu Shan (DE-36)
Acquired12 July 1966
ReclassifiedPF-36
ReclassifiedPF-821
ReclassifiedPF-836
StrickenMay 1995
FateBroken up for scrap
General characteristics
Class and typeBuckley-class destroyer escort
Displacement
  • 1,400 long tons (1,422 t) light
  • 1,673 long tons (1,700 t) standard
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam37 ft (11 m)
Draft13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × boilers
  • General Electric turbo-electric drive
  • 12,000 shp (8.9 MW)
  • 2 × solid manganese-bronze 3,600 lb (1,600 kg) 3-bladed propellers, 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter, 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) pitch
  • 2 × rudders
Speed24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried
4 × LCVP landing craft (as APD)
Capacity162 troops (as APD)
Complement186
Armament

USS Bull (DE-693/APD-78) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort, 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.