Target ship

Target ship.
USS Oberrender (DE-344) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Lieutenant Commander Thomas Olin Oberrender, Jr., the engineering officer of the light cruiser USS Juneau, killed when that ship was torpedoed and sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Laid down in November 1943, launched in January 1944, and commissioned almost four months later, Oberrender commenced convoy escort duty in the Pacific in late 1944, with an interlude protecting escort carriers during the early stages of the invasion of Leyte. She was heavily damaged by the explosion of the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood at Manus and was repaired there during November. Returning 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 1945. She was decommissioned and sunk as a target late that year.

Target ship

Target ship.
SMS Zähringen was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Wittelsbach class of the Imperial German Navy. She was laid down in November 1899 and completed October 1902. She and her sister ships—Wittelsbach, Wettin, Schwaben and Mecklenburg—were armed with a main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). These and the other ships of I Squadron underwent extensive annual training, as well as making goodwill visits to foreign countries. Zähringen was decommissioned in September 1910 as dreadnought battleships began to enter service and she saw little activity until the start of World War I in 1914. Zähringen saw limited duty in the Baltic Sea and played a minor role in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. The ship was withdrawn from active service in late 1915 due to crew shortages and the threat from British submarines. After the war, she was converted into a radio-controlled target ship.