The Jouett then continued to operate with Admiral Ingram's antisubmarine force, now called 4th Fleet, through the rest of 1943.
On New Year's Day, 1944, she joined the light cruiser USS Omaha (CL-4) for ocean patrol; and the ships intercepted the German blockade runner SS Rio Grande with a cargo of rubber. After its crew abandoned ship, the Jouett and Omaha sank the German ship.
This effective closing of the South Atlantic to German blockade running was demonstrated even more forcefully just a day later when patrol planes reported a strange ship identifying herself as the Floridian. Intelligence, however, identified her as the blockade runner Burgenlund.
Before aerial attacks could begin, the Omaha and Jouett picked her up on radar and closed in. Scuttling charges were set on the German ship and the cruiser's gunfire sank her just after 17:30.
--GreGen
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