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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Paul G. Baker (DE 642)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - H - P - D

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 - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory 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

Paul G. Baker (DE 642) Building and Operational Data:

26 September 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco, Cal.

12 March 1944: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine E. Baker, wife of Lieutenant (jg) Baker

25 May 1944: Commissioned by Captain Leo Sahm, USN (ret.) representing Com12thND, Lcdr. W. Gordon Cornell, USNR, in command

03 February 1947: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 2 years and 8⅓ months of service; having steamed 96,287 miles, she was credited with the destruction of two Japanese bombers

02 April 1947: Inactivated at San Diego, Cal., assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet

01 December 1969: Struck from the NVR

October 1970: Sold for scrapping

Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
577k	03 June 1944: San Francisco, Cal. - *Paul G. Baker* in two post-commissioning photos from Bethlehem Steel's San Francisco shipyard. From 01 to 17 June 1944, *Baker* was assigned to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Operational Training Unit (TF 14) in San Francisco Bay for fitting out, conducting trials, and equipment calibration. On 18 June she departed the San Francisco area for San Diego to conduct shakedown training. (U.S. Navy photos from the National Archives, courtesy of Chris Wright)	Ed Zajkowski Narvon, Pa.
625k		Ed Zajkowski Narvon, Pa.
119k	03 June 1944: San Francisco, Cal. - The port side view of USS *Paul G. Baker* in the photo above colorized by Yu Chu to show the gradients in color. She's wearing Camouflage Pattern 31/22D.	Chin Yu Chu Brunei Darussalam South East Asia
623k	date / location unknown: USS *Wichita* (CA 45) in background. (U.S. Navy photo from the National Archives)	Bob "Von" Liebman Major, USAF (Ret)

Paul G. Baker History
View the USS Paul G. Baker (DE 642) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

Paul G. Baker's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 25 May 1944 – 09 Jan. 1945	Lcdr. Wallace Gordon Cornell (Comm. CO) (Staten Island, N.Y.)
2.) 09 Jan. 1945 – 15 Dec. 1945	Lcdr. E. C. Patterson Jr., USNR
3.) 15 Dec. 1945 – 26 Jun. 1946	Lcdr. Oliver Scott Dwire, USNR (USNA ‘41) (Oxnard, Cal.)
4.) 26 Jun. 1946 – 02 Mar. 1947	Lcdr. Lawrence Stephen (Snuffy) Lockett Jr. (USNA ‘40) (Denver, Colo.) (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, 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
Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Paul G. Baker

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