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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Christopher (DE 100)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Y - Q - U

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - WWII Victory Medal

Specifications:
Class: Cannon
Type: DET (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, long hull, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1240 tons (light), 1620 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 10,800 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 3 x 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks
Complement: 15 / 201

Christopher (DE 100) Building and Operational Data:

07 December 1942: Keel laid by the Dravo Corp., Wilmington, Del..

19 June 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Carl Christopher, mother of Ensign Christopher

23 October 1943: Commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Lt. Archer W. Trench in command

04 January 1944: Arrived at Recife, Brazil to commence service in the Caribbean and South Atlantic, operating primarily between Recife and Trinidad

19 December 1944: Decommissioned at the Brazilian Naval Base at Natal, Brazil after 1 year and 2 months of service; loaned to Brazil and renamed Benevente (Be-6) (stricken and scrapped in 1964)

30 June 1953: Struck from the NVR, title transferred outright to Brazil under the Mutual Assistance Program (MAP)

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0610001	52k	Harald Jensen Christopher was born in Dwight, Ill on 06 November 1919. He was commissioned ensign in the Naval Reserve 28 May 1941, and after training at the Naval Air Station, San Pedro, Calif., reported for duty in USS *Nevada* (BB 36) 05 August 1941. During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 07 December 1941, "Ensign Christopher, realizing that his services at his regular battle station were not needed at the time, upon his own initiative assumed duties on the 5-inch broadside battery and effectively controlled his part of that battery until killed by a bomb explosion." He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for "distinguished service, courage, devotion to duty and disregard for his own safety." USS *Christopher* (DE 100) (1943-1944) was the first ship named in his honor. (Photo from the Northwestern University Library)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0610006	118k	19 June 1943: Wilmington, Del. - *Christopher* (DE 100) slides into the water after being christened at the Dravo Corp. (U.S. Navy Photo; from "The World Encyclopedia of Destroyers and Frigates" by Bernard Ireland)	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0610005	102k	Undated port broadside view of *Christopher* at sea. The ship is painted in the MS22 camouflage scheme. (Photo from the U.S. Naval Recognition Manual, 1943-45 Ed.)	Robert T. Baxter EM1, USNR and Mike Green Port Angeles, Wash.
0610004	50k	19 December 1944: USS *Christopher* (DE 100), side by side with USS *Herzog* (DE 178) and their crews during ceremony transferring Christopher to the Brazilian Navy. Taken at the Natal Naval Station in Brazil. (Official U.S. Navy Photo)	Luiz Brazil Cotta FT3 (Ret.) Brazilian Navy
0610002	65k	undated: as CTE ("Contratorpedeiro de Escolta" / Destroyer Escort) *Benevente* (D-20), in service with the Brazilian Navy (Official Brazilian Navy Photo)
0610003	68k

Christopher History
View the USS Christopher (DE 100) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

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

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 23 Oct. 1943 - 01 Jun. 1944	Lt. Archer William Patrick Trench, USNR (Comm. CO) (New York City, N. Y.)
2.) 01 Jun. 1944 - 19 Dec. 1944	Lcdr. Joe Maxwell Gunn, USNR (Decomm. CO) (Troy, Tex.)

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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