Please Report Any Broken Links Or Trouble You Might Come Across To The Webmaster
Please Take A Moment To Let Us Know So That We Can Correct Any Problems And Make Your Visit As Enjoyable And As Informative As Possible.


Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive




Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Roberts (DE 749)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Z - W - X
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Shetland Pony"


Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Navy Expeditionary Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star
Second Row: WWII Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star


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
Roberts (DE 749) Building and Operational Data:
  • 07 July 1943: Keel laid by the Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif.
  • 14 November 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Ruth Marohn
  • 02 September 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr. Robert M. Catharine Jr., USNR, in command
  • 03 March 1947: Decommissioned, placed "in service, in reserve", assigned to NRT, 5th Naval District at Norfok, Va.
  • 13 August 1950: Recommissioned (in reserve)
  • 01 December 1950: Recommissioned (active)
  • 02 October 1961: Discontinued NRT duties, assigned to Escort Squadron 12 at Norfolk, Va.
  • 01 August 1962: Resumed NRT duties as a unit of Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34 (ResDesDiv 342) at Baltimore, Md.
  • 01 October 1964: Decommissioned (placed "in service, in reserve") at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Va.
  • 13 October 1964: Resumed NRT assignment at the U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center, Ft. McHenry, Baltimore, Md.
  • 21 September 1968: Placed "out of commission, out of service" at the U.S. Naval Ship Deactivation Facility, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va.
  • 23 September 1968: Struck from the NVR with 24 years of total service
  • .. November 1971: Sunk as target
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    ***Tills / Roberts***
    0674804
    94k USS Tills (DE 748) and Roberts (DE 749) going through the Panama Canal during WWII, taken from USS Hemminger (DE 746). Robert Taylor
    Roberts
    0674902
    230k undated wartime image image David Buell
    Roberts
    0674926
    431k 28 September 1944: at sea - USS Roberts (DE 749) underway entering port with her crew at quarters. She is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 14D (a modification of that design as prepared for the DD-445 class). From 25 to 28 September, Roberts was involved in an ASW training cruise in the "shakedown area" off San Diego, Cal.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 107524 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Manager, Navsource
    DE / FF / LCS Archive
    Roberts
    0674903
    312k early August 1945: Apra Harbor, Guam - An LCM-3 hauls Roberts into ABSD-6 alongside USS Torrance (AKA 76) for drydocking. Also in ABSD-6 at the time were Tills (DE 748) and SS A. McKensie. Sandy Sanphilipo
    BMC, USNR (ret.)
    Roberts
    0674904
    287k
    Roberts
    0674905
    266k August 1945: Apra Harbor, Guam - While drydocked in ABSD-6, the ships learned of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On 15 August 1945 the end of the war was announced.
    Roberts
    0674906
    291k
    Roberts
    0674907
    58k undated post-war image Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Roberts
    0674908
    86k undated post-war image
    (Photo #NA80-G-1028016 from the National Archives)
    Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Roberts
    0674909
    97k undated, post-war Ralph Freese
    (Late president of DESA)
    Roberts
    0674910
    34k undated post-war images Robert L. Andersen
    YNC, USNR (ret.)
    Roberts
    0674911
    32k
    Roberts
    0674912
    214k
    Roberts
    0674913
    34k circa 1960 Sandy Sanphilipo
    BMC, USNR (ret.)
    Roberts
    0674914
    31k
    Roberts
    0674915
    96k circa 1960: This shot was titled "seasick again". The gentleman in the ballcap is the CO, Cap't. Zimmerman.
    Roberts
    0674916
    153k circa 1960: BM1 Younce and BM2 Sanphilipo heading over for liberty in Haiti.
    Roberts
    0674917
    43k undated post-war image Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Roberts
    0674918
    83k Grand Cayman Island, Spring ‘62 Jay Jones
    EM3, 1962-1964
    Roberts
    0674919
    73k depth charge
    Roberts
    0674920
    103k gun mounts 31 & 32 looking aft
    Roberts
    0674921
    100k gun mount 33 looking aft
    Roberts
    0674922
    109k depth charge crew at the ready
    Roberts
    0674923
    94k main deck aft looking forward
    Roberts
    0674924
    327k undated: Roberts underway. Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Roberts
    0674925
    388k undated: Roberts in an unknown port moored alongside USS Waller (DDE 466). An unidentified fleet tug is moored on the opposite side of the pier.

    **USS Roberts Crew Photo Page**

    Roberts Memorabilia
    Ship's Portrait

    Roberts
    Courtesy of
    Sandy Sanphilipo
    Page From
    Ship's Newsletter
    Roberts
    Courtesy of
    Sandy Sanphilipo
    Ship's Award
    Plaque
    Roberts
    Courtesy of
    Jay Jones
    Ship's
    Lighter
    Roberts
    Courtesy of
    Jay Jones

    Roberts History
    View the USS Roberts (DE 749) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

    Roberts' Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)  02 Sep. 1944 – 1946Lcdr. Robert M. Catharine Jr., USNR (Comm. CO)
    2.)  1946 – 03 Mar. 1947Lcdr. Stewart Lindsay Jr., USNR
    5.)  01 Dec. 1950 – Lcdr. Robert Winslow Sherman, USN
    8.)  – 27 Mar. 1957Lcdr. Frederick Julius Heiler, USN (Detroit, Mich.)
    9.)  27 Mar. 1957 – 17 Apr. 1957Lt. James Calvin Peeler, USN
    10.) 17 Apr. 1957 – 09 Sep. 1959Lcdr. Richard Herbert Spindler, USN
    11.) 09 Sep. 1959 – 08 Sep. 1961Lcdr. Daniel Thomas Wieland Jr., USN (USNA ‘46) (Sunbury, Pa.)
    12.) 08 Sep. 1961 – 28 Oct. 1961Lcdr. Roger Emerson Melick, USN (Marshalltown, Iowa)
    13.) 28 Oct. 1961 – 31 Jul. 1962Cmdr. Jacob S. Zimmerman, USNR
    14.) 31 Jul. 1962 – 01 Oct. 1964Lt. / Lcdr. Harry Thomas Ketzner, USN (USNA ‘53) (New Albany, Ind.)
    15.) 01 Oct. 1964 – 05 Feb. 1965Lt. Dean Marvin Finley, USN (OinC)
    16.) 05 Feb. 1965 – 19 Dec. 1967Lt. Griffith Joel Winthrop, USN (OinC)
    17.) 19 Dec. 1967 – 21 Sep. 1968Lt. Hugh Miller Rawls, USN (OinC) (USNA ‘62) (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: M. Edward Arnold
    Address: 3235 Ames Avenue
    City/State: Kingman AZ 86401
    Phone: (928) 692-9190
    E-mail: DD547@citlink.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
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
    Back To The Main Photo Index

    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail: Webmaster.

    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 31 March 2023