USS Julius A. Raven

History
United States
Name	USS Julius A. Raven
Namesake	Lieutenant, junior grade, Julius A. Raven (1918-1942), a U.S. Navy officer and Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal recipient
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down	26 January 1944
Launched	3 March 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Irene E. Raven
Commissioned	28 June 1945
Decommissioned	31 May 1946
Reclassified	From destroyer escort (DE-600) to high-speed transport (APD-110) 17 July 1944
Stricken	15 January 1966
Fate	Transferred to South Korea on 13 January 1966
Notes	Laid down as Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Julius A. Raven (DE-600)
History
South Korea
Name	ROKS Ung Po (PG-83)
Acquired	13 January 1966
Reclassified	APD-823, date unknown
Reclassified	DE-825, date unknown
Fate	Deleted 1984 Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Crosley-class high speed transport
Displacement	2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops	162
Complement	204
Armament	1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun 6 × 40 mm guns 6 × 20 mm guns 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Julius A. Raven (APD-110), ex-DE-600, was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946. She later served in the Republic of Korea Navy as ROKS Ung Po (PG-83).

Julius Arthur Raven was born on 6 January 1918 in New York City. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve as seaman second class on 5 June 1939 at New York City. He was discharged and accepted an appointment as Aviation Cadet on 5 September 1939. After preliminary flight training at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base, Floyd Bennett Field, New York, he was assigned advanced training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. After flight school, Raven was assigned to a patrol squadron in the Pacific, where he served during World War II.

On 25 June 1942, while returning from a combat mission in the Aleutian Islands and flying over Japanese-controlled waters, Raven sighted the U.S. Navy submarine USS S-27, which had run aground on Amchitka Island. Raven landed in a rough sea, embarked 13 of the submarine's crew, and took off, all without damage to his plane. He safely returned them to Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. All of the men of S-27 were later rescued due to the information on their whereabouts provided by Raven.

During the Aleutian Islands campaign, Raven conducted reconnaissance and bombing runs against Japanese-occupied Kiska Island until he was lost at sea while on a mission on 9 August 1942. For the S-27 incident, Raven was awarded the Air Medal for meritorious achievement and extreme courage while effecting a rescue at sea. Posthumously, he also received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Julius A. Raven was laid down as the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Julius A. Raven (DE-600) on 26 January 1944 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts, and was launched on 3 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Irene E. Raven, the widow of the ship's namesake. The ship was reclassified as a Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-110 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, she was commissioned on 28 June 1945.

After shakedown training in the Caribbean, Julius A. Raven served as a training ship at Miami, Florida, for student officers during her active U.S. Navy career.

Julius A. Raven was decommissioned on 31 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Florida, and placed in reserve there as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. In July 1959, she was moved to the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until stricken from the Navy List on 15 January 1966.

Loaned to South Korea on 13 January 1966 under the Military Assistance Program, Julius A. Raven became ROKS Ung Po (PG-83) in the Republic of Korea Navy. She later was redesignated APD-825 and then DE-825. South Korea purchased Ung Po outright from the United States on 15 November 1974.

The Republic of Korea Navy deleted Ung Po in 1984, and she subsequently was scrapped.

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive USS Julius A Raven (APD-110) ex (DE-600)