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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign:
N - H - N - X
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 w/ 1 star
Second Row: World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Philippine Liberation Ribbon


Specifications:
Class: Rudderow
Type: TEV (turbo-electric drive, long hull, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1,450 tons (light), 1,810 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 13' 9" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 CE boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 5,050 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 Mk30, 4 - 40mm Mk1 AA (2x2), 10 x 20mm/70 Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (230 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors (40), 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks (60)
Complement: 12 / 192
Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) Building and Operational Data:
  • 15 December 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards, Hingham, Mass.
  • 22 January 1944: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Fred W. Nickel, Private Nickels' mother
  • 09 June 1944: Commissioned at Hingham, Mass. by Cmdr. M. G. Vangeli, USN, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, representing Com1stND; Lcdr. Claude S. Farmer, USNR, in command
  • 31 May 1946: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal.
  • 31 October 1946 1946: Assigned to NRT, 12th Naval District; arrived at San Francisco, towed to Sacramento, Cal. for use as a Naval Armory
  • 08 July 1948: Reactivated, placed "in service"; assigned to NRT, 12th Naval District at Naval Station, Treasure Island, San Francisco, Cal.
  • 22 September 1950: Recommissioned, continued assignment at San Francisco, Cal.
  • 26 February 1958: Decommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, Cal. after 13 years and 8⅓ months of service; custody transferred to the CO, San Francisco Group, U.S. Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • 01 December 1972: Struck from the NVR
  • 09 June 1973: Sold for scrapping to the Levin Metals Co., San Jose, Cal.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658707
    219k 22 January 1944: Hingham, Mass. - The future USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) slides down the building way ramp into the water. -
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658702
    23k 1945: Hollandia, New Guinea - Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587), taken while she was at anchor. My father, then Lcdr. Claude S. Farmer, USNR, was her commissioning CO and was in command when she destroyed two Japanese midget submarine in August 1945. Claude S. Farmer Jr.
    Commander, USN (ret.)
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658706
    293k 1950's: A radioman deep in thought aboard USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587). This photo was captioned "U.S. Navy sailor, a radioman, reading girly magazines." But this poor guy's getting a bad rap. If you look closely you'll see he's actually reading "The Radio Amateur's Licensing Manual".

    (Vintage photo from Robert T. Hendricks, a U.S. Navy Sailor who served in the attack transport USS Marathon [APA 200] in 1945)
    Tommy Trampp
    Benton City, Wash.
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658704
    449k 27 July 1955: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) lies off while preparing to moor at Vancouver.

    (Photo #AM1506-S3-3-: CVA 447-8445 by Walter E. Frost from the City of Vancouver Archives)
    Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658708
    116k mid-1950's: San Francisco, Cal. - USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) moored at the Treasure Island Naval Station.

    [Photo by George R. Larson; USN (ret.) from the Old Blue Jacket web site of Warren Willis, CWO4, USN (ret.)]
    Chin Yu Chu
    Brunei Darussalam
    South East Asia
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658705
    238k Undated post-war view of Thomas F. Nickel underway. Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Thomas F. Nickel
    0658703
    72k 1957: San Francisco, Cal. - Thomas F. Nickel, taken from Treasure Island. Russell Cole

    Thomas F. Nickel History
    View the USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Thomas F. Nickel as submitted by the ship at war's end.

    Thomas F. Nickel's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 09 Jun. 1944 – .. Mar. 1946Lcdr. Claude Smith Farmer, USNR (Comm. CO)
    2.) .. Mar. 1946 – 31 May 1946Lt.(jg) John J. Deasy, USNR (Decomm. CO) (San Francisco, Cal.)

    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

    Dennis Fisher's "YouTube" Tribute to USS Thomas F. Nickel
    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 Thomas F. Nickel
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
    Back To The Main Photo Index

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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: 03 July 2020