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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive
Ship's Patches Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Chambers (DE 391)


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


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row: European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service 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
Chambers (DE 391) Building and Operational Data:
  • 28 May 1943: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 17 August 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. R. F. Chambers, mother of Ensign Chambers
  • 22 November 1943: Commissioned, Cmdr. H. A. Loughlin, USCG, in command; assigned to the Atlantic Fleet
  • 22 April 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 5 months of service
  • 11 June 1952: Loaned to the U.S. Coast Guard and recommissioned as WDE-491; assigned to New Bedford, Mass.
  • 30 July 1954: Decommissioned and returned to U.S. Navy custody after 2 years and 1½ months of service
  • 28 October 1954: Reclassified as DER 391, commenced conversion
  • 01 June 1955: Recommissioned; homeport changed to Newport, R.I. as a unit of Escort Squadron 16, on the Atlantic Barrier Patrol
  • 20 June 1960: Decommissioned while berthed in the Back Bay Channel of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after 5 years and ½ month of service, custody transferred to the CO, Philadelphia Group, U. S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • 01 March 1975: Struck from the NVR with a total 9 years and 7 months of service
  • 24 September 1975: Sold for scrapping
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Chambers
    0639102    		 224k Official U.S. Coast Guard WWII Public Affairs photo of USS Chambers (DE 391), also included is the rear of the photo describing the ship in action. David's Dad, Bennie Hanus, was a wartime crewmember of Chambers. David Hanus
    Chambers
    0639103    		 102k 11 June 1952: Commissioning into USCG as WDE 491 -
    Chambers
    0639104    		 48k circa 1952: shortly after USCG commissioning Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Chambers
    0639106    		 414k undated: Port quarter view of the radar picket destroyer escort USS Chambers (DE 391) after her DER conversion.

    (U.S. Navy photo #L45-47.07.02 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Chambers
    0639105    		 116k 02 April 1958: At Lisbon, Portugal Karl A. Emrich
    RMC, USN (ret.)
    Memorabilia
    Ship's Lighter
    Chambers
    Courtesy of
    Mike Smolinski
    Chambers History
    View the USS Chambers (DE 391) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Chambers' Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 22 Nov. 1943 – 23 Oct. 1944Cmdr. Harry Augustine Loughlin, USCG (USCGA '29)
    2.) 23 Oct. 1944 - Lcdr. Warner Keith Thompson Jr., USCG (USCGA '33)
    3.) 01 Jun. 1955 – 05 Feb. 1957Cmdr. George Kingsbury Dress, USN
    4.) 05 Feb. 1957 – 26 Jun. 1958Lcdr. / Cmdr. Robert J. Loomis, USN
    5.) 26 Jun. 1958 – 22 Dec. 1959Lcdr. C. T. McGrath, USN
    6.) 22 Dec. 1959 – 20 Jun. 1960Lcdr. Claiborne Sheldon Bradley, USN (USNA '48B) (Chicago, Ill.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Next Reunion:
    11 - 15 September 2011 at Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
    Held in conjunction with the annual DESA Reunion
    Contact Name: Curt Spangler
    Address: 302 East Main Street
    City/State: Hamburg NY 14075
    Phone: 716-861-0455
    E-mail: spang1039 at verizon.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, 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 Chambers
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
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    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 20 January 2023