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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Lewis (DE535)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - H - M - S
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - WWII Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row: Korean Service Medal - United Nations Korea 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
Lewis (DE535) Building and Operational Data:
  • 3 November 1943: Keel laid by the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass.
  • 7 December 1943: Launched and christened
  • 5 September 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr Robert H. Stevens, USNR, in command
  • 1 May 1946: Decommissioned
  • 1951: Underwent SBC-63, ASW Upgrade
  • 28 March 1952: Recommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Lcdr Gordon S. Hawkins, USN, in command, assigned to CruDesPac at San Diego, Cal.
  • October 1958: Homeport changed to Guam
  • 27 May 1960: Decommissioned at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
  • 1 January 1966: Stricken from the NVR
  • July 1966: Sunk as target

    Note: In November 1959 while participating in "Project Nekton", which was deep water research involving the Trieste (a self contained two man bathysphere that could
    operate in the deepest ocean waters), Lewis, using her depth finding gear discovered the deepest spot ever found in the ocean; 35,800 feet.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Lewis 109k undated wartime image David Buell
    Lewis 76k 28 March 1952: Mare Island NSY - Commissioning ceremonies aboard USS Lewis (DE535) at Mare Island. She was in conversion status at the yard from 1 October 1951 to 9 May 1952. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-535-12541-3-52) Darryl Baker
    Lewis 98k undated news clipping Jon & Kari Stacy
    ***Seiverling / Lewis*** 301k 17 January 1956: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal. - Four destroyer escorts are in dry dock #2 at Mare Island. Back row are: USS Ulvert M. Moore (DE442) left and USS William Seiverling (DE441) right; front row are: USS Wiseman (DE667) left and Lewis, on right. All were in dock from 15 December 1955 to 18 January 1956 and started overhaul on 28 November 1955. Wiseman completed overhaul on 29 February 1956, Seiverling & Moore completed on 11 February 1956 and Lewis completed on 9 March 1956. (U.S. Navy photo #MINSY 27713-1-56) Darryl Baker
    Lewis 76k undated late 1950's photo -
    Lewis 94k circa 1959: USS Lewis (DE535) underway. (U.S. Naval Photo, from "Jane's Fighitng Ships" 1960-61) Robert Hurst
    ***Evans / Lewis*** 34k circa 1959 - 1960: Lewis, USS Currier (DE700), USS Evans (DE1023), and USS Wiseman (DE667). -
    There is no history of USS Lewis (DE535) available through the DANFS history project on
    the Naval History and Heritage Command web site. The ship was somehow missed.
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Next reunion
    30 August - 2 September 2010 at Albany, N.Y.
    Contact Name: Donald L. Kuhn
    Address: 1945 N. Riley Ave.
    City: Indianapolis IN 46218
    Phone: 317-359-4702
    E-mail: dlk4438 at sbcglobal.net
    See USS Lewis Web Site Below for more information
    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 Lewis Web Site
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Lewis
    To The DE Photo Index Page Back To The Main Photo Index

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    Page Last Updated 18 November 2009