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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Trumpeter (DE 180)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - W - Y - O
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Specifications:
Class: Cannon
Type: DET (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, long hull, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1240 tons (light), 1620 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 10,800 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 / 201
Trumpeter (DE 180) Building and Operational Data:
  • 07 June 1943: Keel laid at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Port Newark, N.J.
  • 19 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Hazel Vivian Trumpeter, mother of Lt. George Nelson Trumpeter
  • 16 October 1943: Commissioned at the New York Navy Yard by Captain of the Yard, Cap't H. V. McKittrick, Cmdr. John R. Litchfield in command
  • 14 June 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 8 months of service
  • 01 August 1973: Struck from the NVR
  • 18 June 1974: Sold for scrapping to the Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md for $94,666.66.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Trumpeter
    0618003    		 341k 31 October 1943: The Atlantic Ocean - Two views of USS Trumpeter on builder's trials shortly after being commissioned.

    (U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships Photos #53088 and 53089 from the United States National Archives)
    		 William Henry Roberts
    Lieutenant, USNR
    Trumpeter Commissioning Crew
    Gunnery, then Executive Officer

    from his son,

    William H. Roberts
    Commander, USN (ret.)
    Trumpeter
    0618003    		 383k
    Trumpeter
    0618005    		 394k early 1945: Mers-el-Kabir, Oran - An officer from Commander, Destroyers, Atlantic performs a depth charge inspection aboard Trumpeter.

    (Personal photo of  Lt. William Henry Roberts)
    Trumpeter
    0618006    		 285k early 1945: Mers-el-Kabir, Oran - Trumpeter's Fire/Rescue Party climbs back aboard from the ship's motor whaleboat.

    (Personal photo of  Lt. William Henry Roberts)
    Trumpeter
    0618007    		 282k early 1945: Mers-el-Kabir, Oran - A good view of the ship's motor whaleboat being lowered.

    (Personal photo of  Lt. William Henry Roberts)
    Trumpeter
    0618002    		 58k December 1945 or January 1946: USS Trumpeter in transit Pearl harbor to Panama Canal.
    Trumpeter
    0618008    		 224k January 1946: Republic of Panama - Trumpeter is shown transiting the Panama Canal on its' way back to the East Coast.

    (Personal photo of  Lt. William Henry Roberts)
    Huse
    0616203    		 79k 18 June 1974: the Dep't of Defense Bid List for the scrapping of ex-DE's 162, 180, 181, 1015, 1021, and 1022 (Levy, Trumpeter, Straub, Hammerberg, Courtney, and Lester). Ed Zajkowski
         and
    Tim Rizzuto
    Trumpeter
    Memorabilia
    Launch
    Button
    Trumpeter
    Courtesy of
    Tom Kermen
    Trumpeter History
    View the USS Trumpeter (DE 180) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Trumpeter as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Trumpeter's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 16 Oct. 1943 - 04 May 1944Cmdr. John R. Litchfield, USNR (Comm. CO) (Newton Center, Mass.)
    2.) 04 May 1944 - 14 Dec. 1945Lcdr. George B. Buck Jr., USNR(Larchmont, N.Y.)
    3.) 14 Dec. 1945 - 22 Jan. 1946Lcdr. Theodore E. Olsen, USNR(Honolulu, T.H.)
    4.) 22 Jan. 1946 - 13 Feb. 1946Lt. Robert F. Doran, USNR(Washington, D.C.)
    5.) 13 Feb. 1946 - 14 May 1946Lt.(jg) Richard G. Stevens, USNR 
    6.) 14 May 1946 - 14 Jun. 1946Lt.(jg) Donald V. Cassill, USNR (Decomm. CO) (Blakesburg, Ind)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact: Bill Flitcraft (son of Carl E. Flitcraft, Ship's Serviceman 3c, Laundry)
    E-mail: cwflitcraft at comcast.net
    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
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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: 29 December 2021