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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Tatum (DE 789 / APD 81)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Z - T - A
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star
Second Row: European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service 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
Tatum (DE 789) Building and Operational Data:
  • 22 April 1943: Keel laid by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.
  • 07 August 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Cecile Cofield Tatum, Lcdr. Tatum's widow
  • 22 November 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr. William C. D. Bellinger in command
  • 12 December 1944: Conversion to APD commenced at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, N.Y.
  • 15 December 1944: Reclassified APD 81, conversion completed 06 March 1945
  • 15 November 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years of service
  • 01 June 1960: Struck from the NVR
  • 08 May 1961: Sold for scrapping to the Southern Scrap Metal Co., New Orleans, La.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Tatum
    0678904    		 203k 07 August 1943: Orange, Tex. - The future USS Tatum is christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Cecile Cofield Tatum, the widow of Lcdr. Lawrence A. Tatum, DC, USN. S. Dale Hargrave
    Newport News, Va.
    Tatum
    0678905    		 157k 29 January 1944: Boston Harbor - USS Tatum (DE 789) photographed in Boston Harbor wearing Camouflage Measure 32, Design 11D. Tatum had been in the yard for post-shakedown availability since 17 January.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 83296, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975; from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Tatum
    0678903    		 369k 29 January 1944: Boston Harbor - Taken during Tatum's post shakedown yard period at the Boston Navy Yard. She had gotten out of drydock that morning.

    (U.S. Navy photo #CP-DE-789 19-LCM from the National Archives and Records Administration, courtesy of  Chris Wright)    		 Ed Zajkowski
    Narvon, Pa.
    Tatum
    0678902    		 97k 25 February 1944: the Atlantic Ocean - USS Tatum enroute to Norfolk, Va. She and Borum (DE 790) were escorting USS Kasaan Bay (CVE 69) northward. They stopped to drop three medical cases at the Naval Operating Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on the previous day.

    (U.S. Navy Photo #80-G-419678 from the United States National Archives)    		 -
    Tatum History
    View the USS Tatum (DE 789 / APD 81) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Tatum's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 22 Nov. 1943 – 03 Feb. 1945Lcdr. William Cotesworth Pinchney Bellinger Jr., USN (Comm. CO) (USNA ‘33) (McColl, S.C.)
    2.) 03 Feb. 1945 – 21 Jan. 1946Lcdr. / Cmdr. William Charles Howes, USNR (Rockledge, Fla.)
    3.) 21 Jan. 1946 – 15 Nov. 1946Lcdr. Almer Paul Colvin, USN (USNA ‘39) (Mansfield, La.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: Laurice M. Tatum
    Address: 4719 Quarter Staff Road
    City/State: Birmingham, Ala. 35223
    Phone: (205) 967-2479
    E-mail: Laurice Tatum
    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 Tatum (APD 81)
    Tin Can Sailors
    The U.S. Navy Memorial
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    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: 06 February 2020