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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive



Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Edward McDonnell (DE1043)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign:
N - C - Q - G
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Del Monte"

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Navy Unit Commendation - CG Meritorious Unit Commendation w/star - Navy Expeditionary Medal
Second Row: National Defense Service Medal - Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon - CG Special Operations Service Ribbon w/ 2 stars


Specifications:
Class: Garcia
Type: SCB No. 199A / 1961 - 1963
Number in Class: 10
Displacement: 2,620 tons (std), 3,400 tons (full)
Length: 390' 0" (wl), 414' 6" (oa)
Beam: 44' 0" (extreme)
Draft: 24' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 Foster Wheeler 1200-psi boilers; 1 Westinghouse geared turbine; 35,000 shp; 1 shaft
Speed: 27 kts
Range: 4,000 nm @ 20 knots
Complement: 13 / 234
Guns: 2 - 5"/38 Mk30 Gun (2x1) (350 rounds)
ASW Weapons: 1 - Mk16 ASROC launcher (1x8) (16 missiles), 6 - 12.75" (324mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes (2x3) / Mk 46 torpedos (18)
Radars: AN/SPS-10 (surface), AN/SPS-40 (air)
Sonars: AN/SQS-26AXR in DE 1040 - 1045, AN/SQS-26BX in DE 1047 - 1051
Fire Control Systems: Mk56 Mod 43 Gun FCS, Mk114 Mod 8/11 ASW FCS
Helicopter: 1 - SH-2 LAMPS Helicopter
Edward McDonnell (DE1043) Building and Operational Data:
  • 3 January 1962: Building contract awarded to Avondale Shipyards, Inc.
  • 1 April 1963: Keel laid at the Avondale Shipyard Corp., Westwego, La.
  • 15 February 1964: Launched and christened
  • 15 February 1965: Commissioned, Cmdr. Daniel Lewis Banks Jr. in command
  • 30 June 1975: Reclassified Frigate (FF1043)
  • 30 September 1988: Decommissioned after 23.6 years of service
  • 15 December 1992: Stricken from the NVR
  • 7 December 2001: Contract (for $2.3 million) awarded to Metro Machine Corp, Philadelphia, Pa. for towing and scrapping at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
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    By And/Or Copyright
    Edward McDonnell 46k Edward Orrick McDonnell was born on 13 November 1891 in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1912. During the engagements at the Battle of Vera Cruz on 21 and 22 April 1914, he was posted on the roof of the Terminal Hotel and landing. There, Ens. McDonnell established a signal station remaining day and night, maintaining communication between troops and ships. At this exposed post he was continually under fire. One man was killed and 3 wounded at his side during the 2 days' fighting. He showed extraordinary heroism and striking courage while maintaining his station. All signals got through, largely due to his heroic devotion to duty. For this action he won the Medal of Honor. Remaining in the Navy, McDonnell progressed through the ranks to Admiral. After his retirement he was killed in the crash of a commercial airliner at Bolivia, South Carolina, on 6 January 1960 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His son, Edward Orrick McDonnell, Jr. served with the Army Air Corps in World War II and was killed in action..

    USS Edward McDonnell (DE1043) was the first ship to be named in his honor.
    Bill Gonyo
    Edward McDonnell 50k date / location unknown: USS Edward McDonnell (DE1043) in heavy seas. Robert Hurst
    Edward McDonnell 36k mid 1960's: Edward McDonnell at sea in the Atlantic. Robert M. Cieri
    Edward McDonnell 56k 1966: The Mediterranean - Edward McDonnell in heavy weather. Bob LaFont
    Edward McDonnell 48k Summer 1970: the North Atlantic (Both photos © Steve Singlar) Steve Singlar
    ETCS USNR (ret.)
    Edward McDonnell 94k
    Edward McDonnell 4176k 1972 movie, one minute. Shows McDonnell refueling from the USS Nantahala (AO60). My ship, USS Intrepid (CVS11) was on port side of Nantahala, so my vantage point was excellent. We had pretty heavy seas that day, she took some hefty white water over the bow as she broke away from the refueling....exciting footage. Jim Converse,
    former Lt.(jg),
    USS Intrepid (CVS11)
    Edward McDonnell 52k An undated postcard view of Edward McDonnell as a DE.     (Postcard © Arnold Art Store, Newport, R.I.; shown at 125% of original size)

    Caption reads: U.S.S. Edward McDonnell (DE-1043) is a modern ocean escort. Command facilities include a modular Combat Information Center and advanced communications and electronics installations. With an overall length of 414 feet, an extreme beam of 44 feet and displacing 3500 tons, this ship is representative of our newest anti-submarine warfare capability. Official U.S. Navy photograph.
    Mike Smolinski
    Edward McDonnell 79k An undated postcard view of Edward McDonnell as an FF.     (Postcard #16091 © Marine Photos and Publishing Co., San Diego, Cal.; shown at 125% of original size)

    Caption reads: The ocean escort USS EDWARD MC DONNELL standing off Newport, Rhode Island.
    Edward McDonnell 55k An undated postcard view of Edward McDonnell as an FF.     (Postcard #P11803 © Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, Va.; shown at 125% of original size)

    Caption reads: U.S.S. EDWARD MC DONNELL (FF-1043) - A GARCIA class frigate built by Avondale Shipyards, Inc., New Orleans, LA and commissioned on 15 February 1965.
    Edward McDonnell 57k July 1978: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Photo © Walter Bengtson) Walter Bengtson
    Edward McDonnell 74k 29 January 1983: at Barcelona, Spain - Visible in this photo are many of McDonnell's radar, communications and EW antennas. There is no ASROC reload magazine. Fabio Peņa
    Edw. McDonnell 265k 7 May 1985: A starboard beam view of the frigate Edward McDonnell underway off the Virginia Capes. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-01953 from DefenseImagery.mil) Navsource
    Edw. McDonnell 365k 20 November 1986: An aerial starboard quarter view of the frigate Edward McDonnell underway. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-01417 from DefenseImagery.mil)
    Edw. McDonnell 255k 20 November 1986: An elevated starboard quarter view of the frigate Edward McDonnell underway. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-87-01426 from DefenseImagery.mil)
    Edw. McDonnell 196k 22 April 1988: A port bow view of the frigate Edward McDonnell underway. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-88-06665 by PH2 P.A. Reich from DefenseImagery.mil)
    Edw. McDonnell 168k 22 April 1988: A Combat Support Squadron 8 (HC-8) CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter hovers over the fantail of the ammunition ship USS Nitro (AE23) in preparation for transporting ordnance during a vertical replenishment with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV67). The bow of the frigate Edward McDonnell is in the background. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-88-06666 by PH2 P.A. Reich from DefenseImagery.mil)
    Edw. McDonnell 213k 22 April 1988: A Combat Support Squadron 8 (HC-8) CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter hovers over the fantail of the ammunition ship USS Nitro (AE23) in preparation for transporting ordnance during a vertical replenishment with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV67). The amidships section of the frigate Edward McDonnell is in the background. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-88-06667 by PH2 P.A. Reich from DefenseImagery.mil)
    Edw. McDonnell 211k 22 April 1988: A view of the bows of the ammunition ship USS Nitro (AE23), foreground, and the frigate Edward McDonnell underway alongside the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV67) during an underway replenishment. (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-88-06671 by PH2 P.A. Reich from DefenseImagery.mil)
    Edward McDonnell 100k date unknown: Philadelphia, Pa. - Voge (FF1047) outboard, and Edward McDonnell sharing a berth just ahead of the heavy cruiser Des Moines (CA134) at the Inactive Ship Facility in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. (from the authors collection, photo taken from Warship Boneyards by Kit and Carolyn Bonner) Robert Hurst

    The USS Edward McDonnell (DE1043) DANFS history entry
    located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site is not presently available.

    Edward McDonnell's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    15 February 1965 - 22 May 1966      Cmdr. Daniel Lewis Banks Jr.
    22 May 1966 - 05 July 1968   Cmdr. William R. Sheridan
    05 July 1968 - 16 February 1970   Cmdr. Richard C. Allen
    16 February 1970 - 15 August 1971   Cmdr. Alexander Malcolm Sinclair (later became Radm.)
    15 August 1971 - 15 January 1973   Cmdr. Roger O. Simon (later became Radm.)
    15 January 1973 - 19 July 1974   Cmdr. Francis John Lamotte
    19 July 1974 - 29 October 1975   Cmdr. Lyndon Conway Murchison Jr.
    29 October 1975 - 10 September 1978   Cmdr. Robert Dean Thomas
    10 September 1978 - 25 September 1979   Cmdr. Charles E. Ryan
    25 September 1979 - 15 January 1982   Cmdr. Frank Peter Zmorzenski
    15 January 1982 - 17 June 1983   Cmdr. Gerald M. Vanderweir
    17 June 1983 - 10 July 1986   Cmdr. James Arthur Roorbach II
    10 July 1986 - 14 July 1988   Cmdr. Jerome V. Diekemper
    14 July 1988 - 30 September 1988   Cmdr. James J. McCallum

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information

    Contact Name: John C. Collins
    Address:202 Terrace Ave. / Riverside RI 02915
    Phone:(401) 433-4998
    E-mail: john1297@cox.net

    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 or rosters available. Please see the Frequently Asked
    Questions section on Navsource's Main Page for that information.


    Additional Resources
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Edward McDonnell
    USS Edward McDonnell Page on Destroyers Online
    USS Edward McDonnell Page on Military.Com

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    This Page Is Created And Maintained by Mike Smolinski
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    Page Last Updated 29 October 2009