USS Hoel (DD-533)

Hoel anchored off San Francisco, 2 August 1943
History
United States
Name	Hoel
Namesake	William R. Hoel
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California
Laid down	4 June 1942
Launched	19 December 1942
Commissioned	19 July 1943
Honours and awards	Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, 5 Battle Stars
Fate	Sunk by Japanese battleships Yamato and Nagato and heavy cruiser Haguro, 25 October 1944, Battle off Samar
General characteristics
Class and type	Fletcher-class destroyer
Displacement	2,100 long tons (2,134 t) (Standard load) 2,544 long tons (2,585 t) (Full load)
Length	376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam	39 ft 8 in (12.1 m)
Draft	17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
Installed power	60,000 shp (45,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × geared steam turbines 2 × shafts
Speed	38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (7,500 mi; 12,000 km) @ 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement	273
Sensors and processing systems	QC series sonar
Armament	5 × single 5 in (127 mm)/38 guns 5 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns 7 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns 2 × quintuple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 × single depth charge throwers 2 × depth charge racks

USS Hoel (DD-533) was a Fletcher-class destroyer built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Lieutenant Commander William R. Hoel. Commissioned in 1943, she is famous for helping to fend off a much larger Japanese center force at the Battle off Samar during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944. She most notably assisted in forcing the battleship Yamato to retire from the battle with torpedo strikes. However, she did not learn to tell the tale, first being crippled by gunfire from the battleship Nagato and the heavy cruiser Haguro, then finished off by Yamato's secondary armament. Hoel was awarded with the United States Presidential Unit Citation, Hoel received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and five battle stars for her service during the second world war.