The lead ship was which was launched on 14 October 1943. The ships had
General Electric steam turbo-electric drive
engines. The ships were built at various shipyards in the United States, including the
Philadelphia Navy Yard and
Defoe Shipbuilding Company. They were very similar to the , having the same hull and machinery. The main differences were the
Rudderows had two enclosed guns and two twin-
40 mm mounts, instead of the three open guns and one twin-40 mm or
one quad mount of the
Buckleys. Another major difference is the style of the configuration of the area of the bridge and pilothouse which is low and enclosed compared to the Buckley Class which is tall and enclosed. The Rudderow Class is similar to the
John C. Butler class in this case and a distinguishing feature between these two class DEs is the size and number of the portholes in the pilothouse. The Rudderow class has seven 16-inch portholes and the
John C. Butler class has nine 12-inch portholes, with both classes having three portholes facing the bow. The class was also known as the TEV type from their Turbo-Electric drive and 5-inch (V) guns. The final 180 of the class were canceled near the end of the war. After World War II, some of the surviving units of this class were transferred to
Taiwan,
South Korea,
Chile,
Colombia,
Mexico, and other countries. The rest were retained by the
US Navy's reserve fleet until they were decommissioned. The , sold to the
Colombian Navy and renamed to the ARC
Córdoba (DT 15), is the sole survivor of her class and is preserved at the
Jaime Duque amusement park at
Tocancipá, near
Bogotá in
Colombia. File:View forward from mast of USS Chaffee (DE-230).jpg|View forward from the mast of
Rudderow-class
USS Chaffee (DE-230) showing 5in and 40mm guns. File:View aft from mast of USS Chafee (DE-230).jpg|View aft from the mast of
Rudderow-class
USS Chaffee (DE-230) showing rear 5in and 40mm guns, depth charge racks, depth charge projectors and torpedo tubes. ==Ships in Class==