USS Williams (DE-290) was a proposed United States Navy Rudderow-class destroyer escort that was never built.

Sources differ on Williams's planned builder; plans called for either Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard at Hingham, Massachusetts^[1] or the Charleston Navy Yard at Charleston, South Carolina^[2] to build her. The contract for her construction was cancelled on 12 March 1944 before construction could begin.

The name Williams was transferred to the destroyer escort USS Williams (DE-372).

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Naval History: Photographic History of The U.S. Navy: Destroyer Escorts, Frigates, Littoral Warfare Vessels