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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's Name Tab Courtesy of Al Grazevich

USS Spangler (DE 696)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - K - Z - E

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - WWII Victory Medal - National Defense Service 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

Spangler (DE 696) Building and Operational Data:

28 April 1943: Keel laid by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.

15 July 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Myrtle Spangler, mother of Lt. Spangler

31 October 1943: Commissioned by the Commandant, Eighth Naval District, at the Naval Station, Algiers, La., Lcdr. W. A. Burgett in command

At war's end, Spangler was assigned to the Pacific Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force at San Diego, Cal.

08 October 1958: Decommissioned at Astoria, Oreg. after 14 years and 4 months of service; placed in the Columbia River Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet

01 March 1972: Struck from the NVR

20 November 1972: Sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, Ore.

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0669601	6k	Donald Hays Spangler was born in Albion, Ind. on 29 May 1918. He was appointed midshipman at the Naval Academy on 08 July 1938 and commissioned ensign on 19 December 1941. Ensign Spangler reported for duty in USS *Atlanta* (CL 51) at Boston, Mass., on 03 January 1942. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) to date from 01 October 1942. Lt.(jg) Spangler was killed in action when *Atlanta* was heavily damaged during the night action off Savo Island in the Solomons on 13 November 1942. USS *Spangler* (DE 696) (1943-1958) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy thanks to Nell Horn)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0669610	167k	An undated newspaper clipping with a photo of Mrs. Myrtle E. Spangler and Capt. C.D. Swain, Supervisor of Shipbuilding at DeFoe Shipbuilding, just prior to *Spangler*'s launching.	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0669602	65k	23 August 1947: San Francisco, Cal. - Stern view of USS *Spangler* (DE 696) at the South end of Mare Island. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-696-1572-47)	Darryl Baker PNCM, USNR (ret.) Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
0669603	97k	23 August 1947: San Francisco, Cal. - Stern view of *Spangler* at the South end of Mare Island. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-696-1573-47)
0669609	440k	20 September 1951: Vallejo, Cal. - Stern view of *Spangler* tied up at Mare Island. Three unidentified Jeep carriers are moored ahead of her.
0669604	57k	circa 1951: San Francisco, Cal. - steaming under the Golden Gate Bridge. (Photo © Allied Photographers, San Francisco, Cal.)	Robert Ellis SO2, DE-696
0669605	107k	circa 1951: Ship's Portrait	Bill Hager 1950 - 1953
0669606	84k	1952: M Division portrait
0669607	119k	1953: M Division portrait
0669608	82k	undated, mainmast indicates later date than previous ship's portrait
0669611	168k	late postwar image	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Archive Manager DE / FF / LCS Archive Navsource

Spangler Memorabilia
Ship's Matchbook Courtesy of Nick Tiberio

Spangler History
View the USS Spangler (DE 696) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

Spangler's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 31 Oct. 1943 - 13 May 1944	Lcdr. William Ano Burgett (Diamondville, Wyo.) (Comm. CO)
2.) 13 May 1944 - 13 Mar. 1945	Lcdr. Douglas J. McFarlane, USNR
3.) 13 Mar. 1945 - 10 Oct. 1945	Lcdr. H. H. Edwards
4.) 10 Oct. 1945 - 06 Mar. 1947	Lcdr. Henry McCloy Easterling, USNR
5.) 06 Mar. 1947 - 26 Jun. 1947	Lcdr. Roy Albert Norelius
6.) 26 Jun. 1947 - 22 Jul. 1948	Lcdr. Albert Andrews Richards
7.) 22 Jul. 1948 - .. Sep. 1949	Lcdr. Joseph Patula Rizza (Johnstown, Pa.) (ret. as Radm.)
8.) .. Sep. 1949 - 07 May 1951	Lcdr. Robert Ross Carter, USNR
9.) 07 May 1951 - 03 Nov. 1951	Lcdr. James Conner Pollock (St. Louis, Mo.)
10.) 03 Nov. 1951 - 04 Dec. 1953	Lcdr. Richard Rhodes Law (Savanna, Ill.)
11.) 04 Dec. 1953 - 20 Apr. 1956	Lcdr. Daniel James O’Connell (New York, N.Y.)
12.) 20 Apr. 1956 - 11 Oct. 1957	Lcdr. Orval J. Washburn
13.) 11 Oct. 1957 - 08 Oct. 1958	Lcdr. Charles Harvin Carroll (Salt Lake City, Utah) (Decomm. CO)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: David D. Norris
E-mail: David Norris

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

Wayne Dorough's USS Spangler Website
Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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