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

USS William T. Powell (DE 213)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - X - V - U
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Specifications:
Class: Buckley
Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1400 tons (light), 1740 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 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 / 198
William T. Powell (DE 213) Building and Operational Data:
  • 26 August 1943: Keel laid at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • 27 November 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Elsie V. Powell, mother of Gunner's Mate Powell
  • 28 March 1944: Commissioned at Charleston, S.C., Lt. James L. Davenport, USNR, in command
  • 15 June - 22 October 1945: Converted to a radar picket DE at the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 05 November 1948: Assigned to NRT, 4th Naval District, at Philadelphia, Pa.
  • 18 March 1949: Reclassified DER 213
  • 09 January 1949: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 4 years and 9⅓ months of service
  • 28 November 1950: Recommissioned, resumed NRT duties at Philadelphia
  • 01 December 1954: Reclassified back to DE 213
  • 17 January 1958: Decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pa. after 7 years and 1⅔ months of service
  • 01 November 1965: Struck from the NVR with 12 total years of service
  • 03 October 1966: Sold for scrapping to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Evarts
    0621302    		 163k USS William T. Powell (DE 213) - a fine speed shot at 24 knots. The hull gave a greater impression of speed than the RN frigate types; note the smaller breadth on the forecastle, but still the most effective use of space. The H/F D/F mast is raked, and has a tripod support.

    [U.S. Navy photo from the book "Allied Escort Ships of World War II (A Complete Survey)" by Peter Elliott]    		 Edib Krlicbegovic
    Bosnia - Hercegovina
    W.T. Powell
    0621303    		 68k Undated Wartime Image -
    W.T. Powell
    0621304    		 53k Undated Wartime Image Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    W.T. Powell
    0621305    		 71k Undated Late Wartime Image (Doug's Dad, Edward T. O'Rourke, served in Powell from 1945 to 1948) Douglas O'Rourke
    W.T. Powell
    0621306    		 68k Undated Late Wartime Image
    W.T. Powell
    0621310    		 693k 09 July 1944: the Atlantic Ocean - William T. Powell photographed by a Weeksville, N.C. based blimp belonging to squadron ZP-24 at 1605 local time. She was aproximately 100 miles east of the mouth of Delaware Bay at a very low altitude of 130 feet.

    (U.S. Navy photos #CP-DE-213 80-G-239228 from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.; courtesy of  Chris Wright)    		 Ed Zajkowski
    Narvon, Pa.
    W.T. Powell
    0621308    		 55k October 1945: Houston, Tex. - USS William T. Powell (DE 213) after conversion to a radar picket ship. She was the first DE converted to a DER. Five inch mountings, and eight 40 mm Bofors aft, have been added. The new, heavy after tripod mast, and the many new aerials, transform the appearance of this ship, though later DERs had comprehensive changes to the superstructure.

    (Photos and text taken from "American Destroyer Escorts of World War 2" by Peter Elliott)    		 Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    W.T. Powell
    0621307    		 31k circa 1952: William T. Powell as a DER
    W.T. Powell
    0621309    		 409k A plaque that's mounted on the quarterdeck of the William T. Powell Training Facility in San Diego, Cal. The building serves as a schoolhouse for weapons ratings (primarily GM's and FC's). Carrie A. Tripp
    FCC(SW), USN
    William T. Powell History
    View the USS William T. Powell (DE 213) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    William T. Powell's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 28 Mar. 1944 - 02 Jun. 1045Lcdr. James L. Davenport, USNR (Comm. CO)
    2.) 02 Jun. 1945 - 31 Aug. 1945Lt. Marvin W. Silvers, USNR (Philadelphia, Pa.)
    3.) 31 Aug. 1945 - 18 Dec. 1945Lt. Emory P. Boynton, USNR 
    4.) 18 Dec. 1945 - 26 Aug 1946Lcdr. Calvert Burke Gill (USNA '40) (Baltimore, Md.)
    5.) 26 Aug 1946 - .. .... ....Lcdr. Charles Harry Borg Jr. (USNA ‘42) (Englewood, N. J.)
    6.) 01 Feb 1947 - .. .... 1948Lcdr. Thomas John LaForest (Detroit, Mich.)
    7.) .. .... 1948 - .. .... ....Lcdr. Thomas George Miskill (Washington, D.C.)
    8.) .. .... .... - .. .... .... Lcdr. Edward George Miller (USNA '41) (Lehighton, Pa.)
    9.) .. .... .... - 17 Jan. 1958Cmdr. Boykin Robinson Dodson (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
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS William T. Powell
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
    Back To The Main Photo Index

    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail: Webmaster.

    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 02 November 2022