Please Report Any Broken Links Or Trouble You Might Come Across To The Webmaster
Please Take A Moment To Let Us Know So That We Can Correct Any Problems And Make Your Visit As Enjoyable And As Informative As Possible.

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
Specifications:
Class: Buckley
Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1400 tons (light), 1740 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 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: 15 / 198
Bowers (DE 637) Building and Operational Data:
  • 28 May 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco, Cal.
  • 31 October 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Eunice Bowers, the mother of Ens. Bowers
  • 27 January 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr Frederic W. Hawes in command
  • 25 June 1945: Reclassified APD 40, conversion commenced at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
  • 10 February 1947: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla.
  • 6 February 1951: Recommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., assigned to the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet at Little Creek, Va.
  • March 1955: Assigned as NRT ship, 6th Naval District at Charleston, S.C.
  • 18 December 1958: Decommissioned at Charleston, S.C.
  • 21 April 1961: Transferred to the Philippines, renamed BRP Rajah Soliman (D-66)
          June 1962: Sank in a typhoon at Bataan National Shipyard (raised, stricken, December 1964)
          31 January 1966: Hulk sold to Mitsubishi International Corp. for scrapping
  • 1 May 1961: Stricken from the NVR
    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 (U.S. 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. (U.S. Navy Photo #NARA-80G-315254)
    View the USS Bowers (DE 637 / APD 40) 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
    Navsource APD Pages, USS Bowers (APD 40)
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Bowers
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    To The DE Photo Index Page Back To The Main Photo Index

    Comments, Suggestions, or Image Submissions, Please E-mail: DE Info
    Problems or Site Related Matters, Please E-mail: Webmaster

    This Page Is Created And Maintained by Mike Smolinski
    All Pages Copyright © 1996 - 2010 Paul R. Yarnall © 2010 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated 14 March 2008