Laid down in November , launched in January , and commissioned almost four months later, Oberrender served on convoy escort duty in the Pacific from late , with an interlude protecting escort carriers during the early stages of the invasion of Leyte. Returned to service in December, Oberrender served on anti-submarine patrol during the Battle of Okinawa , during which she was irreparably damaged by a kamikaze attack in early May As a result, she was decommissioned and sunk as a target late that year.
The John C. Butler —class destroyer escorts were designed to meet a need for large numbers of cheap anti-submarine escort ships for ocean convoys , and as a result carried little anti-surface armament. The class was part of an initial requirement for escorts to be completed by the end of , which was significantly reduced.
Oberrender was feet She also carried four millimeter 1. Equipped with three inch mm centerline torpedo tubes , the ship also carried two depth charge racks, eight K-gun depth-charge throwers and one Hedgehog spigot mortar as anti-submarine weapons.
She was commissioned on 11 May under the command of Lieutenant Commander Samuel Spencer, who commanded the ship for the duration of her service. Following commissioning, the ship began fitting out at the Orange City Docks, followed by gunnery testing in the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the month she conducted further training and completed her fitting out at the Todd Galveston Dry Docks.
Oberrender was then degaussed before sailing for Bermuda on 28 May. For repairs to correct deficiencies found during shakedown, Oberrender was ordered to the Boston Navy Yard. Oberrender transited the canal on 1 August, [2] after a stopover at Aruba. With fellow destroyer escorts Samuel B. Roberts and Walter C. Wann , Oberrender escorted another Eniwetok-bound convoy, arriving at her destination on 30 September.
