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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Bowers (DE-637 / APD-40)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - H - P - A
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 - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 4 stars
Second Row: World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Philippine Liberation Ribbon


Class: Buckley      Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1,400 tons (std) 1,740 tons (full)   Dimensions: 306' (oa), 300' (wl) x 36' 9" x 13' 6" (max)
Armament: 3-3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1-1.1"/75 Mk2 quad AA (4x1), 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
Machinery: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 knots   Range: 4,940 nm @ 12 knots   Crew: 15 / 198

Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco CA on 28 May 1943
Launched 31 October 1943, Commissioned 27 January 1944
Reclassified and converted to APD- 40 at the Philadelphia NSY, 25 June 1945
Decommissioned 10 February 1947, Recommissioned 6 February 1951
Assigned as NRT ship, 5th Naval District at Norfolk VA, March 1955
Decommissioned 18 December 1958, Stricken 1 May 1961
Fate: Transferred to the Philippines 21 April 1961, renamed BRP Rajah Soliman (D-66)
sunk in Typhoon at Bataan National Shipyard, June 1962, raised and stricken in December 1964,
her huIk was sold to Mitsubishi International Corp. on 31 January 1966 for scrapping

Click On Image
For Full Size Image
Size Image Description Contributed
By And/Or Copyright
Bowers 33k 5 February 1945: an aerial shot taken off NAS Alameda, California (US Navy Photo #NARA-80G-216256) Contributed by Rob Rielly
National Association of
USS LCS(L) 1-130
Bowers 26k 16 April 1945: Crashed Japanese Oscar is on the bridge. (US Navy Photo #NARA-80G-315254)

View the USS Bowers (DE-637 / APD-40), DANFS history entry
located on the US 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 or rosters available. Please see the Frequently Asked
Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.


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Page Last Updated 14 March 2008