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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Gillette (DE 681)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - K - Y - U
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 - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal


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
Gillette (DE681) Building and Operational Data:
  • 24 August 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel (Fore River Yard) Shipyard, Inc., Quincy, Mass.
  • 25 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Pearl M. Gillette, mother of Lt.(jg) Douglas Wiley Gillette
  • 27 October 1943: Commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard, Cmdr. T. G. Murrell, USNR, commanding
  • 03 February 1947: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 3 years and 3 months of service
  • 01 December 1972: Struck from the NVR
  • 11 September 1973: Sold, scrapped
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Gillette 155k June 1944
    (U.S. Navy photo)
    -
    Richey 267k circa 1960: San Diego, Cal. - U .S. Navy Reserve Fleet ships berthed at Naval Base San Diego, California. Ships include (l-r): USS Charles J. Kimmel (DE 584), USS Richey (DE 385), USS Bivin (DE 536), USS Gillette (DE 681) and USS Bull (APD 78)

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 72678 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom

    Gillette History
    View the USS Gillette (DE 681) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Gillette as submitted by the ship at war's end.

    Gillette's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 27 Oct. 1943 - 14 Apr. 1944Cmdr. T. G. Murrell, USNR (Comm. CO) (Los Angeles, Cal.)
    2.) 14 Apr. 1944 - 17 Dec. 1945Lcdr. / Cmdr. James W. Daniel Jr., USNR (Claxton, Ga.)
    3.) 17 Dec. 1945 - .. .... 1946Lcdr. Robert S. Bruns, USNR
    4.) .. .... 1946 - .. .... ....Lcdr. Kenneth Barth Brown, USN (Evanston, Ill.)

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information

    Contact Name: Warren F. Szczypiorski
    Address: 1239 Woodside Road
    City/State: Conshohocken PA 19428
    Phone: (610) 825-5469
    E-mail: Warren Szczypiorski
    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

    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 Gillette
    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: 10 October 2019