USS Hoel (DD-533) was a built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Lieutenant Commander William R. Hoel. Commissioned in 1943, she was sunk in the Battle off Samar during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 25, 1944. Design and characteristics The s were designed, beginning in October 1939, to be large enough to adequately carry the armament of the preceding s. From January 1940 to the end of World War II, 175 Fletcher-class destroyers were built. As a Fletcher-class, Hoel displaced under her standard load and at full load. She had an overall length of , with a draft of and beam of . She was powered by two General Electric steam turbines and four Babcock & Wilcox boilers, which produced and a top speed of . With a fuel capacity of of fuel oil, Hoel had a range of at . She was crewed by 273 enlisted men and officers. Hoels armor measured thick on its sides and on the deck over its machinery. Her primary armament consisted of a main battery of five dual-purpose /38 cal. guns, guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System, ten torpedo tubes guided by a Mark 27 Torpedo Fire Control System, and six depth charge projectors with two tracks guided by a Mark 27 Depth Charge Fire Control System. Her anti-aircraft battery was made up by ten Bofors guns and seven Oerlikon cannons, each guided by a Mark 51 Fire Control System. She was equipped with a QC series sonar. Construction and service history Hoel was launched on 19 December 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, California, sponsored by Mrs. Charles Bunker Crane, Jr., granddaughter of the namesake; and commissioned on 29 July 1943. Hoel sailed from San Francisco Bay 16 August 1943 for shakedown training in operating areas out of San Diego during which she made seven depth charge runs on an underwater sound contact with unknown results. After returning to Mare Island Naval Shipyard 17 September 1943 for final alterations, she cleared San Francisco 26 October 1943 as a part of the screen for a convoy which reached Pearl Harbor 31 October 1943 where Hoel reported to Captain Albert George (A. G.) Cook, Commander of Destroyer Squadron 47 (DesRon 47), who then shifted his flag to her from . Fifth Fleet, which was then preparing to take the Gilbert