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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Snowden (DE 246)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - W - T - J
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Terryville"
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Medal - American Campaign Medal w/ 1 star
Second Row: European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service 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
Snowden (DE 246) Building and Operational Data:
  • 07 December 1942: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Tex.
  • 19 February 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Halford R. Greenlee
  • 23 August 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr. A. Jackson, Jr., USNR, in command
  • March 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 6¼ months of service
  • 06 June 1951: Recommissioned, assigned to the Atlantic Fleet Destroyer Force as a unit of Escort Squadron 14 at Newport, R.I.
  • 15 June 1960: Assigned to NRT, 4th Naval District at Philadelphia, Pa.
  • 01 August 1960: Decommissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, placed "in service", Lt. M.H. Lasell (OinC) in command, assigned as a unit of Naval Reserve DE Division 4th ND
  • 02 October 1961: Recommissioned for the Berlin Crisis, Lcdr. R.W. Leary in command, assigned to Destroyer Division 601 at Key West, Fla.
  • 22 August 1962: Decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pa., placed back "in service", Lt. J.W. Shelton (OinC) in command, assigned as a unit of Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30 (ResDesDiv 301)
  • 23 September 1968: Placed "out of service" at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Orange, Tex. with 19 years and 10 months of total service, struck from the NVR, custody to CO, Philadelphia Group, U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • 27 June 1969: Sunk as target off Newport, R.I.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Snowden
    0624601

    Snowden

    		 81k Thomas Snowden was born on 12 August 1857 at Peekskill, N.Y. He was appointed a Cadet Midshipman on 25 June 1875 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1879. He served in USS Vandalia, Standish, Monongahela, Dolphin, and Constellation. Snowden was assigned to the Hydrographic Office, Naval Observatory, Naval Academy, War College, and the Office of Naval Intelligence. From 1902 to 1905, he served as navigator of USS Illinois (BB 7) and then returned to Naval Intelligence before joining the Bureau of Equipment.

    Snowden returned to sea in 1908 and commanded USS Mayflower (PY-1), USS South Carolina (CA-9), and USS Wyoming (BB 32). He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1917 and, during World War I, served as Commander, Squadron 1 and Division 2, Battleship Force, Atlantic Fleet. Admiral Snowden was awarded the Navy Cross for his service in World War I. After serving with the Atlantic Fleet until 1919, Admiral Snowden was assigned duty as the Military Governor of Santo Domingo with additional duty as Military Representative of the United States in Haiti. Admiral Snowden was transferred to the Retired List on 12 August 1921 and died on 27 January 1930.

    USS Snowden (DE 246) (1943-1946, 1951-1962) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE / FF / LCS
    Archive Manager
    Snowden
    0624602    		 39k undated wartime image DESA archives
    Snowden
    0624604    		 396k circa 1956: location unknown (Skyfoto from "Jane's Fighting Ships" 1964-65 Edition) Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Snowden
    0624603    		 34k circa 1959: USS Snowden (DE 246), her crew at quarters, ready for leaving port. Snowden's pole mast has been modified to carry her post-war electronic antennas.

    (U.S. Navy Photo, Photo and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships)
    **Huse**
    0614509    		 671k circa late 1950's: Key West, Fla. - An undated photo of a change of command ceremony being held on the pier head at Trumbo Annex, U.S. Naval Station, Key West, Fla. On the left are Huse (DE 145) with Snowden (DE 246) behind her. On the right are Howard D. Crow (DE 252) with Greenwood (DE 679) tied up behind her.

    (Photo #MM00039629x from the Wright Langley Collection, courtesy of the Florida Keys Public Libraries)
    Snowden
    0624610    		 633k circa late 1950's: the Atlantic Ocean - USS John Hood (DD 655) and USS Snowden (DE 246) photographed through a submarine periscope, while underway.

    (U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 1042008 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE / FF / LCS
    Archive Manager
    Snowden
    0624610    		 177k circa late 1960's: Philadelphia, Pa. - USS Snowden (DE 246) at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) is laid up in the background.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 85015, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975, from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Snowden
    0624608    		 365k 20 January 1969: Philadelphia, Pa. - I found these photos in the NISMF files in 1971. I believe one was used in the sales catalog for this ship. Snowden is up against the quay wall with an ARL outboard. Note the port anchor has been landed. In the stern shot, Turkey (MSCO 56) can be seen just ahead and the headquarter ship Chandeleur (AV 10) in the distance.

    (Photo credit: Photo lab, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard)    		 Jim Swank
    Tomball, Tex.
    Snowden
    0624609    		 546k
    Snowden
    0624605    		 408k I recently had some old slides scanned into digital form, and came across these taken in the Summer of 1969. The ex-Snowden was brought to New London for use as a target, and my first home, the USS Tringa (ASR 16) was assigned to tow her out to the operating area where she would be sunk. I had an "interesting" time as Tringa’s First Lieutenant getting her rigged for tow and verifying that temporarily installed flooding alarms would actually work. My CO insisted that we tow her "by the book", so we rigged her as though we were headed off for a lengthy tow as opposed to about 100 miles or so. Anyhow, the first pic is just after we released the tow, the second is the (barely visible) waterspout from the torpedo strike launched by the USS Jack (SSN 605) and the final shot is Snowden’s last view from above the surface. My apologies to all the former Snowden sailors for participating in the sinking of their old home, but at the time it was an assignment for Tringa and we did our job. Chris Williams
    Snowden
    0624606    		 247k
    Snowden
    0624607    		 321k
    Snowden History
    View the USS Snowden (DE 246) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Snowden's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)  23 Aug. 1943 – 27 Dec. 1943Lcdr. Alexander Jackson Jr., USNR (Comm. CO) (USNA '25) (Pascagoula, Miss.) (ret. As Radm.)
    2.)  27 Dec. 1943 – Dec. 1945Lcdr. Norman W. Swanson, USNR
    3.)  Dec. 1945 – Mar. 1946Lt. David M. Graybeal, USNR
    4.)  Mar. 1946 – 29 Mar. 1946Lt.(jg) Frank J. Berends Jr., USNR (Decomm. CO) (North Saint Paul, Minn.)
    5.)  ~1951Cmdr. Claude Denis Gilchrist, USNR (Recomm. CO) (Hull, England)
    6.)  ~1953Lcdr. Alpine William McLane III, USN (Linesville, Pa.)
    7.)  1955 – 24 Jun. 1957Cmdr. Allan Hamilton Craig, USN (enl. '35) (Eureka, Utah)
    8.)  24 Jun. 1957 – 27 Jan. 1959Lcdr. / Cmdr. Jerold Peter Marsh, USN
    9.)  27 Jan. 1959 – 05 Feb. 1960Lcdr. William Reed Glaser, USN
    10.) 05 Feb. 1960 – 01 Aug. 1960Lcdr. Andrew Kenneth Shreve, USN (Washington, DC)
    11.) 01 Aug. 1960 – 03 Oct. 1960Lt. / Lcdr. Max Henry Lasell, USN (OinC) (USNA ‘50) (Springfield, Vt.)
    12.) 03 Oct. 1960 – 02 Oct. 1961Lt. Hugh Thomas Campbell, USN (OinC) (Pompton Lakes, N. J.)
    13.) 02 Oct. 1961 – 22 Aug. 1962Lcdr. Ramon William Leary, USN (Brooklyn, N. Y.)
    14.) 22 Aug. 1962 – 07 Aug. 1964Lt. James Weber Shelton, USN (OinC) (Beelerton, Ky.)
    15.) 07 Aug. 1964 – 09 Sep. 1964Lt.(jg) Kenneth Lee Miller, USNR (OinC)
    16.) 09 Sep. 1964 – 26 Aug. 1966Lt. / Lcdr. Paul Misura, USN (OinC) (Elizabeth, N.J.)
    17.) 26 Aug. 1966 – 23 Sep. 1968Lt. Dennis Vincent Dougherty, USN (OinC) (Citadel '60) (Hoboken, N.J.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: James E. McKelva ('61 - '62)
    E-mail: James McKelva
    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: 25 November 2022