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USS TILLMAN (DD-641)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NWKL

CLASS - GLEAVES As Built.
Displacement 2395 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 348' 4"(oa) x 36' 1" x 13' 2" (Max)
Armament 4 x 5"/38AA, 6 x 0.5" MG, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 50,000 SHP; Charleston Navy Yard Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 35 Knots, Range 6500 NM@ 12 Knots, Crew 208.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Charleston Navy Yard May 1 1941.
Launched December 20 1941 and commissioned June 4 1942.
Decommissioned March 16 1946.
Stricken June 1 1970.
Fate Sold to Southern Scrap Material, New Orleans for $67,000 May 8 1972 and broken up for scrap.

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Tillman 47kPhoto #: NH 103773, Benjamin Ryan Tillman (1847-1918) Governor of South Carolina in 1890-1894 and U.S. Senator from that state from 1895 until his death on 3 July 1918. He was Chairman of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee before and during World War I. The rather battered original photograph was removed from USS Tillman (DD-641) in August 1969, nearly a year before the ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 82kArtist's conception of the Tillman as she appeared in World War II by the renowned graphic illustrator John Barrett with the text written by naval author and historian Robert F. Sumrall. Their company Navy Yard Associates offers prints of most destroyers, destroyer escorts, submarines and aircraft carriers in various configurations during the ship's lifetime. The prints can be customized with ship's patches, your photograph, your bio, etc. If you decide to purchase artwork from them please indicate that you heard about their work from NavSource.Navy Yard Associates
Tillman 183kThe USS Tillman beginning construction on October 28 1941 at Charleston Navy Yard.Ed Zajkowski
Tillman 96kPhoto #: NH 103766, USS Tillman (DD-641), left, and USS Beatty (DD-640) right, on the building ways while being prepared for their dual launching ceremonies, at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, December 1941. The ships have not yet received a clean coat of paint. When launched on 20 December 1941, both had been painted in Camouflage Measure 12. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 76kThe USS Tillman (DD-641) and USS Beatty (DD-640), Gleaves-class destroyers, sit on the builders ways all dressed up at Charleston, South Carolina Navy Yard on December 20 1941 in preparation for launching.Bill Gonyo
Tillman 253kCharleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina, December 20 1941. Dual launching of USS Tillman (DD 641) and USS Beatty (DD 640). Rear Admiral W.H. Allen shows Mrs. Charles B. Moore, sponsor for Tillman, how to christen the ship. Tillman served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II and was decommissioned in 1947, scrapped in 1972. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels Collection.Mike Mohl
Tillman 204kCharleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina, December 20 1941. Dual launching of USS Tillman (DD 641) and USS Beatty (DD 640). Two ships just before launching. Tillman served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II and was decommissioned in 1947, scrapped in 1972. Beatty also served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean but was sunk by German aircraft on November 6, 1943. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels Collection.Mike Mohl
Tillman 168kPhoto #: NH 41784, USS Tillman (DD-641), at left, and USS Beatty (DD-640) center, on the ways just before their dual launching ceremonies, at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, 20 December 1941. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 153kPhoto #: NH 41785, USS Tillman (DD-641), left center, and USS Beatty (DD-640) right center, on the building ways while being prepared for their dual launching ceremonies, at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, 20 December 1941. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 177kUSS Tillman (DD-641) and USS Beatty (DD-640) on the builders ways all dressed up at Charleston, South Carolina Navy Yard on December 20 1941 in preparation for launching.Ron Reeves
Tillman 151kPhoto #: NH 41786, Former Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels speaking on the late Senator Benjamin R. Tillman of South Carolina, during the dual launching ceremonies for USS Tillman (DD-641) and USS Beatty (DD-640), at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, 20 December 1941. USS Tillman's bow is in the background. Beatty is off camera to the right, with shadows of men on her decks visible on Tillman's hull side. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 106kPhoto #: NH 41791, Mrs. Charles S. Moore, the ship's Sponsor, christens Tillman during launching ceremonies at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina on 20 December 1941. USS Beatty (DD-640) was also launched at this time. Captain Albert M. Penn, USN, Charleston Navy Yard Industrial Manager, is in the right foreground. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 113kPhoto #: NH 41787, USS Tillman (DD-641) being towed by tugs in the Cooper River, just after she was launched at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, 20 December 1941. Note that she is painted in what appears to be Measure 12 camouflage. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Tillman 138kPhoto #: 19-N-26590 (cropped), Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, destroyers fitting out and refitting alongside the Navy Yard piers in January 1942. These ships are (from left to right): USS Tillman (DD-641), commissioned 9 June 1942; probably USS Beatty (DD-640), commissioned 7 May 1942; probably USS Hobson (DD-464), commissioned 22 January 1942; USS Anderson (DD-411); USS Hammann (DD-412); and USS Mustin (DD-413). Note that the three incomplete ships at left are painted in Measure 12 camouflage, while those refitting (at right) wear Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified). Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.Tony Cowart
Tillman 39kNew York Harbor on August 14 1943.Robert Hurst
Tillman 156kPhoto #: NH 103759, USS Tillman (DD-641) underway, 1944. The original negative was dated August 1944. Tillman is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.Tony Cowart
Tillman 77kPhoto #: NH 103760, USS Tillman (DD-641) off the New York Navy Yard, New York, 8 October 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.Tony Cowart
Tillman 84kPhoto #: NH 103761, USS Tillman (DD-641) off the New York Navy Yard, New York, 8 October 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D.Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.Tony Cowart

USS TILLMAN DD-641 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

LCDR Francis Douglas McCorkle    Jun 4 1942 - Aug 14 1943 (Later RADM)
CDR Charles Slack Hutchings    Aug 14 1943 - Nov 19 1944 (Later RADM)
LCDR Paul Albert Dimberg    Nov 19 1944 - 1946

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Bill Wenzel
Address: 2185 Beaumont Avenue, NW, Massillon, OH 44647-9588
Phone: 505-531-2515
E-mail: None


Note About Contacts.

The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.


Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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