Please Report Any Broken Links Or Trouble You Might Come Across To The Webmaster
\ Please Take A Moment To Let Us Know So That We Can Correct Any Problems And Make Your Visit As Enjoyable And As Informative As Possible.


Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive


Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Hepburn (DE-1055)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - A - A - W
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Navy Expeditionary Medal
Second Row: National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal - Vietnam Service Medal w/ 2 stars
Third Row: Humanitarian Service Ribbon - Sea Service Deployment Ribbon - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal


Class: Knox (As Built)      FY / SCB No.: 64/199C
Displacement: 3020 tons (std), 4065 tons (full)    Dimensions: 438'(oa), 415" (wl) x 46' 9" x 24' 9"
Armament: 1 x 5"/54 Mk 42, 1 ASROC Mk16 (16 missiles), 4-324mm Mk 32 (4x1 fixed) tubes / Mk 46 torpedos
Machinery: 2 CE 1200psi boilers; 1 Westinghouse geared turbine; 35,000 shp; 1 shaft
Speed: 27 knots    Range: 4,500 nm @ 20 knots    Crew: 13 / 211
Radars: AN/SPS-10 (surface), AN/SPS-40 (air), AN/SPS-58 threat warning in some ships
Sonars: AN/SQS-26CX, AN/SQS-35 IVDS in FF-1052, 1056, 1063-1071, 1073-1076, 1078-1097

Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Todd Shipbuilding, San Pedro CA on 1 June 1966
Launched 25 March 1967, Commissioned 3 July 1969
Reclassified Frigate (FF-1055) on 30 June 1975
Assigned to Naval Reserve Force, Pacific, at San Diego CA 1 October 1989
Decommissioned 20 December 1991, Stricken 11 January 1995

Fate:Sunk as Target - 4 June 2002
Location: 047°05' North 127° 17' West
Depth: 1452 Fathom

Click On Image
For Full Size Image
Size Image Description Contributed
By And/Or Copyright
Hepburn 86k Arthur Japy Hepburn was born 15 October 1877 in Carlisle, Pa. and graduated from the Naval Academy on 5 June 1897. During the Spanish-American War he served as Passed Midshipman in battleship Iowa, and he participated in the defeat of Admiral Cervera's Spanish Squadron off Santiago, Cuba, 3 July 1898. Commissioned Ensign 1 July 1899, during the next two decades he assisted in making oceanic surveys in the Pacific and performed a variety of duties ashore and afloat, including service in Georgia, Olympia, and South Carolina. During World War I he commanded the seized German liner Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Submarine Chaser Base, New London, Conn., until ordered to Europe in July 1918 to command the subchaser base at Queenstown, Ireland. After the armistice, he served in Chester, inspecting German naval ships and aircraft in accordance with naval terms of the Armistice. From 1919 to 1922 he was Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, and from 1922 to 1924 he served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters. During the years prior to World War II, he served a wide variety of important posts both ashore and afloat. He took command of West Virginia (BB-48) in May 1925; became Director of Naval Intelligence in July 1926. From 1927 to 1930 he served as Chief of Staff with Battle Fleet and U.S. Fleet and on 23 May 1931 took command of Submarine Forces, U.S. Fleet. Between June 1932 and July 1933, he served as a naval member to the three-power Limitations of Arms Conference as Naval Adviser to the Geneva Delegation in Switzerland and to the American Representative at the London Naval Conference. After serving as Commander 4th Naval District, and commanding destroyers of the U.S. Fleet, he became Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet 24 June 1936, serving in the rank of Admiral. Two years later he headed a board which reviewed America's national defense structure during the deteriorating international situation. The "Hepburn Board Report" was the basis for the massive Shore Establishment expansion that took place prior to World War II. In 1942, Admiral Hepburn was appointed Chairman of the General Board of the Navy, serving in that capacity throughout the war. He also served as a delegate to the Dumbarton Oaks meetings, which established guidelines for founding the United Nations. Admiral Hepburn retired from active duty 10 December 1945, and died 31 May 1964.

USS Hepburn (DE-1055) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

(Photo scanned from the book, Admiral William Veazie Pratt, U.S. Navy: A Sailor's Life By Gerald E. Wheeler)
Bill Gonyo
Hepburn 110k date / location unknown -
Hepburn 88k date / location unknown Jerry Hays
Hepburn 76k 1972: Hawaii - entering Pearl Harbor Chuck Howshall
ET1, USN-ret.
Hepburn 200k 28 August 1981: Naval Station Subic Bay, Luzon, the Philippines - A view of the docked ships including the guided missile destroyer USS Berkeley (DDG-15), the frigate USS Hepburn (FF-1055), the oiler USNS Hassayampa (T-AO-145), the guided missile cruiser USS Sterrett(CG-31) and the guided missile destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7). (US Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-82-01679 by PHC Larry Foster from the Defense Visual Information Center) Navsource
Chicago 76k date / location unknown: USS Chicago (CG-11) and USS Hepburn (DE-1055) underway. -
***Enterprise*** 171k October 1982: At sea, the Pacific Ocean - Aerial starboard side view of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41), background, underway with their task groups. Hepburn is underway in the foreground. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-85-07596 by PHAN Mellendorf from the DVIC)) Navsource
Hepburn 171k 1 January 1983: At sea - The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders perform their USO show "America and Her Music" on the deck of the fast combat support ship USS Sacramento (AOE-1). Hepburn maneuvers off the port side of Sacramento. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-83-04865 by PH2 Paul B. Souter from the DVIC)
Hepburn 200k 1 January 1983: At sea - The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders perform their USO show "America and Her Music" on the deck of the fast combat support ship USS Sacramento (AOE-1). Hepburn maneuvers off Sacramento's port side. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-83-04867 by PH2 Paul B. Souter from the DVIC)
Hepburn 159k 6 January 1984: At sea - An aerial bow view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-85-00372 by PH1 R. L. Matthews from the DVIC)
Hepburn 222k 6 January 1984: At sea - An aerial port beam view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-85-00368 by PH1 R. L. Matthews from the DVIC)
Hepburn 143k 6 January 1984: At sea - A vertical view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-85-00367 by PH1 R. L. Matthews from the DVIC)
Hepburn 240k 2 June 1986: At sea - An aerial port bow view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-05-06611 by PH2(NAC) Grzezdzinski from the DVIC)
Hepburn 148k 2 June 1986: At sea - An aerial port quarter view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-05-06612 by PH2(NAC) Grzezdzinski from the DVIC)
Hepburn 198k 2 June 1986: At sea - An aerial port stern view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-05-06614 by PH2(NAC) Grzezdzinski from the DVIC)
Hepburn 153k 2 June 1986: At sea - A starboard bow view of Hepburn underway. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-90-01817 by PH2(NAC) Grzezdzinski from the DVIC)
Hepburn 173k August 1989: Nanoose Torpedo Test Range - The Nanoose Torpedo Testing Range is maintained and operated by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport (NUWCDIVKP). The range is a joint US-Canadian facility located in the Strait of Georgia on the eastern side of Vancouver Island, Vancouver, British Columbia. (photo taken by Darryl Shaw) Robert M. Cieri
Hepburn 152k 1 October 1989: At sea - A starboard beam view of Hepburn underway off the coast of California. (US Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-90-02005 by Lcdr Richard Benne from the DVIC) Bill Gonyo

Hepburn Memorabilia
Bullion Patch
Hepburn
Courtesy of Mike Smolinski
Navy Times Ship in the Spotlight
© Mario DeMarco
Hepburn
Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

View the USS Hepburn (DE-1055), DANFS history entry
located on the US Naval Historical Center web site.

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


Additional Resources

Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
USS Hepburn Page on Destroyers Online
USS Hepburn Page on Military.Com
USS Hepburn Page on Navysite

To The DE Photo Index Page Back To The Main Photo Index

Comments, Suggestions, or Image Submissions, Please E-mail: DE Info
Problems or Site Related Matters, Please E-mail: Webmaster

This Page Is Created And Maintained by Mike Smolinski
All Pages Copyright © 1996 - 2008 Paul R. Yarnall © 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
Page Last Updated 1 May 2008