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

USS Gandy (DE 764)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Z - Y - B
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal
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
Gandy (DE 764) Building and Operational Data:
  • 01 March 1943: Keel laid at the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Fla.
  • 12 December 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Miss Ruby Gandy, sister of Seaman Gandy
  • 07 February 1944: Commissioned at Clyde-Mallory Dock, Tampa, Fla., Lcdr. W. A. Sessions, USNR, in command
  • 16 April 1944: Rammed German submarine U-550 off Nantucket Shoals in the Atlantic. Attack joined by Peterson (DE 152) and Joyce (DE 317), sub sunk with depth charges and gunfire.
  • 17 June 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 4⅓ months of service
  • 10 January 1951: Transferred (MAP) to Italy, renamed Altair (F.591) (struck from the Italian Navy and sunk as target, 1971)
  • 26 March 1951: Struck from the NVR
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Gandy
    0676402    		 160k Undated Wartime Image Tim Rizzuto
    Ship's Superintendent
    DE Historical Museum
    USS Slater at Albany, N.Y.
    Gandy
    0676415    		 129k Undated port bow view of USS Gandy (DE 764), weathered and in need of a a new camouflage painting.
    (U.S. Navy photo #NH 73272 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)     		Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Gandy  217k       Gandy  669k       Gandy  1002k
    Gandy  542k       Gandy  526k       Gandy  408k       Gandy  344k      
    08 June 1945: The Atlantic Ocean - These all were taken by an aircraft from the New York Naval Air Station at a 300-ft. altitude. USS Gandy commenced an availability at the Bayonne Annex, New York Navy Yard, on 24 May, authorized to run through 07 June. Other ships arriving the same day included Cates (DE 763), Earl K. Olsen (DE 765), and Thornhill (DE 195). All were overhauled. DE 764 received a fog oil smoke generator and two 40-mm twin mounts. The Mk 4 20-mm gun mounts were replaced by the new, lightweight Mk 10 mounts. DE 765 got an identical work package. Cates got the same package but also had the British Type 147B sonar installed. Thornhill got the Type 147B sonar plus a Mk 52 gun director, plus two 40-mm twins. Olsen also was overhauled at Bayonne.
    (All seven are U.S. Navy photos from the National Archives, courtesy of  Chris Wright)

    0676409   -   0676411   -   0676410   -   0676408   -   0676412   -   0676413   -   0676414    		 Ed Zajkowsk1i
    Narvon, Pa.
    Gandy
    0676403    		 104k undated, as the Italian frigate Altair (F.591) David Meahl
    from the collection
    of his father
    M.E. Meahl
    Commander, USN (ret.)
    Gandy
    0676404    		 104k enhanced copy of the above image
    Gandy
    0676405    		 88k 15 May 1967: Altair at Naples, Italy (Both photos ©Richard Leonhardt) Richard Leonhardt
    Bethlehem, Pa.
    Gandy
    0676406    		 26k
    Gandy
    0676407    		 42k Altair, circa 1968 Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Gandy History
    View the USS Gandy (DE 764) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Gandy's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 23 Feb. 1944 - 06 Jan. 1945Lcdr. William A. Sessions, USNR (Great Neck, Long Island, N.Y.)
    2.) 06 Jan. 1945 - 06 Nov. 1945Lcdr. Frederick H. Brooke, Jr., USNR (Providence, R.I.)
    3.) 06 Nov. 1945 - 26 Dec. 1945Lt. Doyle P. Butler, USNR (Marietta, Ga.)
    4.) 26 Dec. 1945 - 17 Jun. 1946Lt. Ivan H. Rush, USNR (Reedy, W.V.)
    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
    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: 22 January 2020