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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patches courtesy
of Mike Smolinski

USS Lowe (DE 325)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - K - E - R
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Summit"
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Second Row: World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star - Korean Service Medal (USCG Service)
Third Row: Vietnam Service Medal w/ 4 stars - United Nations Korean Service Medal (USCG Service) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign 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
Lowe (DE 325) Building and Operational Data:
  • 24 May 1943: Keel laid at the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.
  • 28 July 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Harry J. Lowe, mother
  • 22 November 1943: Commissioned, Cmdr. Reginald H. French, USCG, in command
  • 18 March 1945: Lowe, in company with Menges (DE 320), Mosley (DE 321), and Pride (DE 323) sank the German submarine U-866, south of Nova Scotia
  • 01 May 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 5 months of service
  • 20 July 1951: Loaned to USCG and Recommissioned WDE-425,
  • 01 June 1954: Decommissioned after 2 years and 10½ months of service and returned to USN at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, Cal.
  • 28 October 1954: Reclassified and converted DER 325
  • 15 January 1955: Recommissioned at Long Beach, Cal., Lcdr. J. R. Bohlken in command, assigned to Escort Squadron 5 at Seattle, Wash.
  • September 1965: Homeport reassigned to Guam
  • 20 September 1968: Decommissioned at Guam after 8 years and 8 months of service
  • 23 September 1968: Struck from the NVR with a total of 13 years and 11½ months of active service
  • 03 September 1969: Sold for scrapping
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    Lowe

    Lowe

    		 39k Harry James Lowe (Loe) Jr. was born in Paducah, Ky. on 06 January 1922. He entered naval service as a seaman apprentice on 28 August 1940. He served in USS San Francisco (CA 38) from 06 December 1940 to 12 November 1942, when he was killed in action off the Solomon Islands. In the face of an onrushing Japanese torpedo plane, he refused to abandon his gun. Although the torpedo failed to do damage, the plane crashed into the after section of the ship, killing Lowe's gun crew and a number of others including Seaman George Falgout (DE 324's namesake). For his extraordinary heroism, Gunners Mate Third Class Lowe was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

    Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Gunner's Mate Third Class Harry James Lowe Jr. (2874405), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession while serving as a Gunner aboard the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38), during an engagement with Japanese naval forces near Savo Island in the Solomons on the night of on 12 and 13 November 1942. With a complete disregard for his own personal safety, Gunner's Mate Third Class Lowe courageously refused to abandon his gun station and fearlessly remained at his gun. In the face of certain death from an onrushing enemy torpedo plane that had been set on fire, he maintained his accurate gunfire until the plane crashed on his station. He was killed in action. His unflinching bravery and gallant conduct were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

    USS Lowe (DE 325) (1943-1968) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo from the USS Lowe Facebook Page)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource Archive Manager
    DE / FF / LCS Archive
    Lowe 73k undated, wartime image Joseph N. Ouellette
    SM3 (1961)
    Lowe 289k 09 April 1945: USS Lowe (DE 325) underway. She carries Camouflage scheme MS 32/3d.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 79831 courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1971 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Lowe 107k undated, as DER 325 Ron Tone
    Lowe 153k Date / Location Unknown: as DER 325 (Both photos ©Mike Proffitt) Mike Proffit
    RM2 (60-62)
    Lowe 204k
    Lowe 206k USS Lowe (DER 325) underway at sea, circa 1960.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 79806 courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974, from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource Archive Manager
    DE / FF / LCS Archive
    Lowe 211k undated - USS Lowe (DE 325) underway and posing for a ship's portrait off San Diego. Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Lowe History
    View the USS Lowe (DE 325) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Lowe as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Lowe's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
          U.S. Navy as DE-325 (Coast Guard Manned)
    1.)  22 Nov. 1943 - 22 May 1944Cmdr. Reginald Hicks French, USCG (Comm. CO) (USCGA '27) (Ardsley, N.Y.) (ret. as Radm., USCG)
    2.)  22 May 1944 - 14 Oct. 1944Lcdr. James Albert Alger Jr., USCG (Brookline, Mass.) (ret. as Radm., USCG)
    3.)  14 Oct. 1944 - .. Dec. 1945Lcdr. Herbert Feldman, USCG (New York City, N.Y.)
    4.)  .. Dec. 1944 - .. Jan. 1946Lcdr. David B. Enbody, USCGR
    5.)  .. Jan. 1946 - 01 May 1946Lcdr. George Russell Lee, USN (Decomm. CO) (USNA '35) (Maysville, Ky.)
          U.S. Coast Guard as WDE-425
    6.)  .. Jul. 1951 - .. Sep. 1952Cmdr. William Bromfield Ellis, USCG (USCGA '32) (Albany, Ga.) (ret. as Radm., USCG)
          U.S. Navy as DER-325
    7.)  15 Jan. 1955 - .. .... ....Lcdr. John Renault Bohlken (Recomm. CO) (Burlington, Ia.)
    8.)  .. Sep. 1959 - .. Nov. 1961Lcdr. Robert Dale Wood
    9.)  .. Nov. 1961 - .. .... 1963Lcdr. Stanley Sidney Fine (USNA '49) (Bronx, N.Y.) (ret. as Radm.)
    10.) .. .... 1963 – 15 Sep. 1965Lcdr. Richard John (Dick) Edris* (Pottsville, Pa.)
    11.) 15 Sep. 1965 - 05 Jul. 1967Lcdr. William Joseph Moredock (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    12.) 05 Jul. 1967 – 20 Sep. 1968Lcdr. Stephen Walter Reszetar (Decomm. CO) (USNA '55) (Allentown, Pa.)
    * Viet Nam War Casualty (Cmdr. Edris was killed during a mortar attack in Gia Dinh Province on 01 November 1966)
    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, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the Frequently
    Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

    Additional Resources
    USS Lowe Facebook Page
    Tin Can Sailors
    The U.S. Navy Memorial
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Lowe
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
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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: 20 July 2022