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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Donaldson (DE 44)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - W - P - W

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/7 stars - WWII Victory Medal

Specifications:
Class: Evarts
Type: GMT (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1,140 tons (light), 1,430 tons (full)
Length: 283' 6" (wl), 289' 5" (oa)
Beam: 35' 0" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 19 kts
Range: 4,150 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 3 - 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 - 1.1"/75 cal. Mk2 quad AA (4x1), 9 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks
Complement: 15 / 183

Donaldson (DE 44) Building and Operational Data:

12 January 1943: Keel laid as BDE-44 by the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash.

01 August 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. J. J. Donaldson, mother of Lieutenant (junior grade) Donaldson; retained by the Navy

01 December 1943: Commissioned, Lt. H. L. Plage, USNR, in command

05 December 1945: Decommissioned at San Francisco, Cal. after 2 years of service

19 December 1945: Struck from the NVR

02 July 1946: Sold for scrapping to the National Metal and Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Los Angeles, Cal.

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0604405	185k	15 December 1943: Bremerton, Wash. - *Donaldson* off the Puget Sound Navy Yard.	Ed Zajkowski Narvon, Pa.
0604403	131k	Undated Wartime Image (appears to be from same time as above photo)	David Buell
0604402	62k	Undated Wartime Image	Jerry Church
0604404	142k	1945: at sea - The destroyer escort USS *Donaldson* (DE 44) comes alongside an unknown aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy Photo #NH 79823 from the Naval History and Heritage Command, Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974)	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom

Donaldson History
View the USS Donaldson (DE 44) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View a short article on the design and development of the Evarts Class DE submitted by Bob Sables.
View the official War History of USS Donaldson as submitted by the ship at war's end.

Donaldson's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 01 Dec. 1943 - 02 Mar. 1944	Lt. / Lcdr. Henry L. Plage, USNR (Comm. CO) (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
2.) 02 Mar. 1944 - 05 Dec. 1945	Lcdr. Henry G. Hartmann, USNR (Decomm. CO)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

None

Note About Contacts

Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has
been made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list
only a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

Additional Resources

Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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