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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Silverstein (DE 534)


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



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row: Korean Service Medal w/ 3 stars - United Nations Korean Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Specifications:
Class: John C. Butler
Type: WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1350 tons (light), 1745 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 cal. DP guns (2x1), 4 - 40mm AA (2x2), 10 - 20mm AA, 3 - 21" TT, 1 Mk10 Hedgehog, 8 Mk6 Depth Charge Projectors, 2 Mk9 Depth Charge Stern Racks
Complement: 14 / 201
Silverstein (DE 534) Building and Operational Data:
  • 8 October 1943: Keel laid at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown, Mass.
  • 8 November 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Ruth B. Silverstein
  • 14 July 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr F.A. Reece, Jr., USNR, in command
  • 15 January 1947: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal.
  • 28 February 1951: Recommissioned at San Diego, Cal., Lcdr J. R. Kittrell, in command, homeported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
  • 28 May 1958: Operating off Pearl Harbor, she struck and sunk USS Stickleback (SS 415); Silverstein, Sabalo (SS 302), and Sturtevant (DE 239) successfully rescued all 82 men from the sub
  • 30 January 1959: Decommissioned at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal.
  • 1 December 1972: Stricken
  • 3 December 1973: Sold for scrapping to the Levin Metals Corp. of San Jose, Cal.,
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Silverstein 49k Max Silverstein was born in Chicago, Ill., on 15 February 1911 and was appointed midshipman at the Naval Academy on 18 June 1928. He was commissioned ensign on 2 June 1932 and went to sea in Chester (CA 27) on the 26th as an aircraft gunnery observer. He was promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) on 2 June 1935 and subsequently served in Chaumont (AP 45), Tattnall (DD 125), and Seattle (CA 11). After being promoted to lieutenant on 13 March 1940, later changed to date from 1 August 1939, Lt. Silverstein reported for duty as Engineer and Damage Control Officer in Sims (DD 409). On 7 May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Sims came under aerial attack. Though knocked unconscious by the first bomb, Lt. Silverstein quickly recovered and "coolly directed the securing of the boilers, the jettisoning of topside weights to preserve stability and the preparations for repairs to save the vessel from sinking." Lt. Silverstein died soon thereafter when Sims sank. For "his relentless determination and inspiring heroism . . . ," Lt. Silverstein was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal and the Purple Heart.

    USS Silverstein (DE 534) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo from the US Naval Academy Yearbook; The Lucky Bag, Class of 1932.)    		 Bill Gonyo
    Silverstein 557k undated Alfred F. McDonald
    GM2c 51-52
    Silverstein 59k undated Ronald W. (Fett) West
    Silverstein 96k Photo was taken when Silverstein was part of a flotilla of ships involved in a series of 17 tests of A-bomb and H-bomb devices, under the code name of "Redwing." John W. Smith / EM3
    USN 1954 - 1957
    Silverstein 227k Page from Silverstein's Scrapping Booklet showing her laid up in storage. Ed Zajkowski
         and
    Tim Rizzuto
    Silverstein 219k Page 11 from Silverstein's Scrapping Booklet designating which items have to be demilitarized.
    View the USS Silverstein (DE 534), DANFS history entry
    located on the U.S. Naval Historical Center 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, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the Frequently
    Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

    Additional Resources
    DE-534 USS Silverstein Crew Photos
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    To The DE Photo Index Page Back To The Main Photo Index

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    Page Last Updated 18 May 2009