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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Schmitt (DE 676 / APD 76)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - K - Y - R
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/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal w/ Asia Clasp
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
Shmitt (DE 676) Building and Operational Data:
  • 22 February 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel (Fore River Yard) Shipyard, Inc., Quincy, Mass.
  • 19 May 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Buchheit
  • 24 July 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr T. D. Cunningham in command
  • 20 January 1945: Entered the U.S. Naval Frontier Base, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, N.Y. for conversion to APD
  • 24 January 1945: Redesignated APD 76
  • 03 April 1945: Conversion completed
  • 28 June 1949: Decommissioned at Charleston, S.C. after 5.9 years of service
  • 01 May 1967: Struck from the NVR
  • 18 February 1969: Transferred to Taiwan, renamed ROCS Lung Shan (PF-44) (stricken, scrapped, 1976)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Schmitt 91k Aloysius H. Schmitt was born on 04 December 1909 in St. Lucas, Iowa. He was appointed Acting Chaplain with rank of Lieutenant (jg.) in the United States Navy on 28 June 1939. He was hearing confessions prior to serving Sunday mass on board the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB 37) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 07 December 1941. When his ship capsized, he became entrapped, along with other members of the crew, in a compartment where only a small porthole provided outlet for escape. He assisted a number of men through the porthole, and then gave up his own chance to escape so that more men might be rescued. He received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal posthumously for his courage and self-sacrifice. In late 2017, his award was upgraded to the Silver Star which was presented to the Schmitt family in a ceremony on 07 December 2017 at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, "Father Al's" alma mater.

    USS Schmitt (DE 676) (1943-1949) was the first ship named in his honor.

    (U.S. Navy photo #171201-N-NO147-002 courtesy of Loras College, from the Naval History and Heritage Command).    		 Bill Gonyo

          and

    Ron Reeves
    Schmitt 24k undated wartime image Jerry Church
    Schmitt 71k undated wartime images, from Peter's Father, Lt.(jg) Joseph A. Fernandez, Jr. Peter Fernandez
    Schmitt 147k
    Schmitt History
    View the USS Schmitt (DE 676) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Schmitt as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Schmitt's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 24 Jul. 1943 - 29 Nov. 1943Lcdr. Thomas Donald Cunningham (Comm. CO) (Danville, Va.)
    2.) 29 Nov. 1943 - 14 Dec. 1944Lt. Nicholas Biddle, USNR
    3.) 14 Dec. 1944 - 01 Feb. 1946Lcdr. Thomas Andrew Melusky, USNR (Des Moines, Ia.)
    4.) 01 Feb. 1946 - .. .... 1947Lcdr. James Joseph Seelig, USNR
    5.) .. .... 1947 - 28 Jun. 1949Lt. Robert James Loomis (Decomm. CO)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: Alton R. Blanks
    Address: 6524 Merrill Road / Columbia SC 29209
    Phone: (803) 776-5148
    E-mail: Alton Blanks
    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
    Navsource APD Pages, USS Schmitt (APD 76)
    Tin Can Sailors
    The U.S. Navy Memorial
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
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    This Page Created And Maintained by Mike Smolinski
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    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 05 December 2017