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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Left ship's patch courtesy of James M. Strong, remainder from Mike Smolinski

USS Kretchmer (DE 329)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - T - E - E
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Mystic Isle"
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: China Service Medal - American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row: Navy Occupation Service Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Fourth Row: Vietnam Service Medal w/ 5 stars- Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation w/ 1 star - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Specifications:
Class: Edsall
Type: FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1200 tons (light), 1590 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 20' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 9,100 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: 8 / 201
Kretchmer (DE 329) Building and Operational Data:
  • 28 June 1943: Keel laid at the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange Tex.
  • 31 August 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Miss Betty Kretchmer, sister of the ship's namesake
  • 13 December 1943: Commissioned at Orange, Tex., Lt. Robert C. Wing, USNR, in command
  • 20 September 1946: Decommissioned at Charleston, S.C., towed to Green Cove Springs, Fla. for storage
  • 20 June 1951: Loaned to USCG and Recommissioned WDE 429
  • 12 August 1954: Returned USN and Decommissioned
  • 21 October 1955: Reclassified and converted to DER 329
  • 22 September 1956: Recommissioned, Lcdr Charles F. Fadeley in command, assigned to Newport, R.I. as a unit of the Northern Radar Barrier
  • 2 August 1965: Arrived at her new homeport; Apra, Guam
  • September 1969: Homeport assignment changed to Pearl Harbor, Hi.
  • November 1969: Homeport assignment changed to Key West, Fla. as a unit of DesDiv 601
  • 1 October 1973: Decommissioned at the Key West Naval Station
  • 1 October 1973: Struck from the Naval Vessel Register
  • 14 May 1974: Sold for scrapping
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Kretchmer 23k in dazzle camouflage, 1944 -
    Kretchmer 60k circa 1946 Robert Hurst
    Kretchmer 116k August 1960: Charlestown, Mass. - USS Kretchmer (DER 329) at the Boston Naval Shipyard. (Both Photos © Richard Leonhardt) Richard Leonhardt
    Kretchmer 93k
    Kretchmer 93k undated, as DER 329 -
    Kretchmer 113k undated, as DER 329 Robert Hurst
    ***Camp / Kretchmer*** 50k 28 July 1965: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - Kretchmer (Lcdr Clarence E. Chinn, CO), USS Camp (DER 251) (Lcdr Frank N. Hannegan, CO), and USS Hissem (DER 400) (Lcdr Ronald I. Dean, CO) mooring at Pearl Harbor Naval Station. All three ships left Newport, R.I. on Wednesday 7 July 1965 headed for Operation Market Time in South Vietnam. Note the Battle "E" on Kretchmer's bridge wing and also on gun mount #31. They were earned in 1964 under the command of previous CO, Lcdr Stephan A. Wise, and denoted Kretchmer as the most "battle ready" of the eight DER's in CortRon 16. (U.S. Navy Photo by PH3 Robert L. Ziesler) Allan M. Wilson
    USS Kretchmer
    1964 - 1968
    Kretchmer 291k July 1966: Subic Bay Naval Station, The Philippines - Kretchmer in a floating dry dock.




                 WestPac '66 - '67: Additional Cruise Photos from Lcdr Pillow    		 George E. Pillow, Jr.
    Captain, USN (ret.)


    Kretchmer's CO as a
    Lieutenant Commander
    April 1966 - July 1968
    Kretchmer 291k
    Kretchmer 228k
    Kretchmer 258k
    Kretchmer 246k
    Kretchmer 227k late 1966 - early 1967: WestPac - Kretchmer at anchor.
    Kretchmer 237k circa 1968: Kretchmer underway (Note that the AN/SPS-8 height finder radar has been removed from the after deckhouse).
    Kretchmer 142k 1971: Key West Naval Annex, Fla. - A picture of Kretchmer tied up at the Naval Annex. Along side Kretchmer is USS Forster (DER 334). Behind her is USS Thomas J. Gary (DER 326) and outboard of Gary is USS Calcaterra (DER 390). David Learn ('70 - '72)
    USS Kretchmer
    USS Thomas J. Gary
    Kretchmer 53k September 1972: location unknown Robert Hurst
    Kretchmer 216k 16 June 1972: USS Kretchmer near Key West, Fla. (U.S. Navy Photo by PH3 Thomas C. Faught) Alfred D. Noyes
    EN3, DER329, 1959-60
    Additional Memorabilia
    souvenir ashtray with
    ship's emblem, circa 1964
    Kretchmer
    Courtesy of
    Allan M. Wilson    		 Coastal Division 15 patch
    click on patch for explanation
    Kretchmer
    Courtesy of
    Allen M. Wilson    		 lighter with
    ship's emblem
    Kretchmer
    Courtesy of
    Mike Smolinski
    View the USS Kretchmer (DE329) DANFS history entry
    located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    USS Kretchmer's 23rd Reunion
    6 - 10 October 2010 at Austin, Tex.
    Contact Name: Jim Strong
    Address: 7248 Resinda Dr. / Dayton OH 45459
    Phone: (937) 436-1245
    E-mail: J. Strong
    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
    USS Kretchmer Reunion Group Website
    USS Kretchmer Unofficial Information Center
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Kretchmer
    The Destroyer History Foundation
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    Page Last Updated 19 September 2009