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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Janssen (DE 396)


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


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - Presidential Unit Citation
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory 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
Janssen (DE 396) Building and Operational Data:
  • 4 August 1943: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 4 October 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Alfred Janssen, stepmother of Lieutenant (j.g.) Janssen
  • 18 December 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr H. E. Cross in command
  • 12 April 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla.
  • 1 July 1972: Stricken from the NVR
  • 15 October 1973: Sold for scrapping
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Janssen 9k Ralph Wille Janssen was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, 28 January 1915, and enlisted in the Naval Reserve 12 October 1940. He was later appointed Midshipman, undergoing training on board Arkansas and at the Naval Reserve Midshipman's School 1940-41. Upon commissioning, Janssen reported to destroyer Porter 2 August 1941, and served on her during the critical first months of the Pacific war. Promoted to Lieutenant (j.g.) 15 June 1942, he was killed 26 October 1942 when Porter was torpedoed by an enemy submarine during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

    USS Janssen (DE 396) (1943-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    Photo Courtesy of the University of Illinois thanks to Nancy Chism    		 Bill Gonyo
    Janssen 80k October 1945, Charleston SC Walt Peterson, S1C
    Janssen 362k Winter 1972 - Spring 1973: Philadelphia, Pa. - A view of the Ship Basin at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Looking north from the Intrepid Ave. side, there are rows and rows of mothballed destroyers and destroyers escorts. One of the few identifiable ships is Janssen, decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. in 1946 and later transferred and towed to Philadelphia. Forward of her is the destroyer Sigourney (DD 643). Jim Cunliffe
    View the USS Janssen (DE 396) DANFS history entry
    located on the Naval History and Heritage Command 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
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Janssen
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    To The DE Photo Index Page Back To The Main Photo Index

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    This Page Created And Maintained by Mike Smolinski
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    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated 21 September 2010