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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS J.R.Y. Blakely (DE 140)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign:
N - F - E - X
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Eagle Pass"
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - WWII Victory Medal
Specifications:
Class: Edsall
Type: FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1200 tons (light), 1590 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 20' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 9,100 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: 8 / 201
J.R.Y. Blakely (DE 140) Building and Operational Data:
  • 16 December 1942: Keel laid at the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.,
  • 07 March 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Miss Mary Young Blakely, niece of Rear Admiral Blakely
  • 16 August 1943: Commissioned, Cdr J. H. Forshew in command
  • 14 June 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2.8 years of service
  • 30 June 1962: Green Cove Springs closed completely, Blakely moved to Orange, Tex.
  • 02 January 1971: Struck from the NVR
  • 02 March 1973: Bidding for scrap opened
  • 16 March 1973: Sold for scrapping to the Luria Bros. Scrap Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
  • 22 August 1973: Removed from U.S. Navy custody
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Blakely
    0614001

    Blakely    		 86k John Russell Young Blakely was born 17 July 1872 in Philadelphia. He was the son of John Blakely, publisher of the Philadelphia Star newspaper, and the nephew of John Russell Young and Congressman James Rankin Young. After graduating Philadelphia's Central High School in 1888, he was appointed to and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1892. After serving in various Navy ships and at many shore stations, he took his first command, USS Des Moines, in 1914. As captain of this ship, and later Seattle, Blakely rendered important service in transporting and escorting troops and supplies to Europe during the First World War. For his outstanding contribution he was awarded the Navy Cross. Following the war Blakely served with the Chief of Naval Operations, at the Naval War College, and with the rank of captain he commanded Arizona (BB 39). After a tour as Assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation in 1925, he was promoted to Rear Admiral and given command of a cruiser division. He also commanded the 15th Naval District and served on the important General Board before poor health forced him to retire on 01 June 1932. Rear Admiral Blakely died 28 March 1942 in Denver, Colo.

    USS J.R.Y. Blakely (DE 140) (1943-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo courtesy of Alan Wagner.)    		 Ron Reeves
    Oaklyn, N.J.
    Blakely
    0614002    		 117k undated wartime image Jerry Church
    Blakely
    0614003    		 75k January 1946 David Buell
    J.R.Y. Blakely
    Memorabilia
    Auction Offering
    Booklet 2 March 1973
    J.R.Y. Blakely
    Courtesy of
    Tim Rizzuto and
    Ed Zajkowski
    J.R.Y. Blakely History
    View the USS J.R.Y. Blakely (DE 140) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    J.R.Y. Blakely's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 16 Aug. 1943 - 30 Sep. 1943Cdr. John Hildreth Forshew, Jr., USNR (Brooklyn, N.Y.) (Comm. CO)
    2.) 30 Sep. 1943 - 26 Jan. 1944Lcdr. James B. Harvey, Jr., USNR
    3.) 26 Jan. 1944 - 26 Mar. 1944Lt. Knox D. Talley, USNR
    4.) 26 Mar. 1944 - 01 Jul. 1945Lcdr. Addison S. Archie, Jr., USNR
    5.) 01 Jul. 1945 - 09 Apr. 1946Lcdr. Paul Jerry Brownlow, USNR (New Holland, Ga.)
    6.) 09 Apr. 1946 - 02 Jun. 1946Lt.(jg) Richard Hood Southwick, USNR
    7.) 02 Jun. 1946 - 04 Jun. 1946Lt.(jg) Harold Legrand Hull, USNR (Decomm. CO)
    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
    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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    Page Last Updated: 29 March 2017