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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Charles Lawrence (DE 53 / APD 37)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - W - R - P
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/ 1 star
Second Row: European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - WWII 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
Charles Lawrence (DE 53) Building and Operational Data:
  • 01 August 1942: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel Corp. Hingham, Mass.
  • 16 February 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. S. Lawrence, mother of AMM2c Charles Lawrence
  • 31 May 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr L. S. Kintberger in command
  • 23 October 1944: Reclassified APD 37, conversion carried out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
  • 21 June 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years and 21 days of service
  • 01 September 1964: Struck from the NVR
  • 17 November 1965: Sold for scrapping to the Southern Scrap Materials Co., New Orleans, La.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Chas. Lawrence 172k 05 October 1943 - New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y. John Klar
    Somerville, N.J.
    Chas. Lawrence 127k undated wartime image - location unknown
    Chas. Lawrence 100k
    Chas. Lawrence 278k undated wartime image - location unknown (seems like a later photo than the last two, the DE is missing on the hull number, and it looks like the 1.1" AA gun on the 01 level aft has been changed to a twin 40MM.
    Chas. Lawrence 278k 13 January 1944: Brooklyn, N.Y. - Two views of Charles Lawrence's stern taken while she was at the New York Navy Yard. Ed Zajkowski
    Narvon, Pa.
    Chas. Lawrence 371k
    Charles Lawrence History
    View the USS Charles Lawrence (DE 53) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Charles Lawrence as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Charles Lawrence's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 31 May 1943 - 15 Aug. 1943Lcdr. Leon Samuel Kintberger, USN (Comm. CO) (Baltimore, Md.)
    2.) 15 Aug. 1943 - 03 Jan. 1944Lt. Francis Kernan, USNR (New York City, N.Y.)
    3.) 03 Jan. 1944 - 21 Jul. 1945Lcdr. George R. Seidlitz, USNR (Kansas City, Mo.)
    4.) 21 Jul. 1945 - 02 Jan. 1946Lcdr. Daniel F. Larkin, Jr., USNR (Westerly, R.I.)
    5.) 02 Jan. 1946 - 21 Jun. 1946Lt. Leonard Matt Matson (Decomm. CO)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Last Known Reunion:
    September 2010 at Lexington, Kentucky
    Contact Name: Terry Sims
    Address: 120 Newhouse Road
    City/State: Wingo KY 42088
    E-mail: Terry Sims
    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 Charles Lawrence
    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: 27 January 2019