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USS Amesbury (DE 66 / APD 46)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - D - O - D
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: 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
Amesbury (DE 66) Building and Operational Data:
  • 08 March 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass.
  • 05 June 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Janet Kenney Amesbury, the widow of the late Lt. (jg.) Amesbury
  • 31 August 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr. Allen B. Adams Jr., in command
  • 23 February 1945: Arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for APD conversion, reclassified APD 46
  • 03 July 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 5⅔ months of service
  • 01 June 1960: Struck from the NVR
  • 24 October 1962: Sold for scrapping to Chet Alexander Marine Salvage, Key West, Fla.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Amesbury 334k 05 June 1943: Hingham, Mass. - Sponsor party of USS Amesbury (DE 66), launched at Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard Incorporated, Hingham, Massachusetts, 05 June 1943. The Ship’s Sponsor, Mrs. Stanton M. Amesbury is shown third from left.

    (National Archives Photo #80-G-72559    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Amesbury 89k 05 June 1943: Hingham, Mass. - Having just been christened and launched, USS Amesbury (DE 66) begins her slide into the water for the first time.
    Amesbury 476k 05 June 1943: Hingham, Mass. - Just christened, USS Amesbury slides into the waters of Hewitt's Cove for the first time ever.
    Amesbury 83k 06 July 1943: Hingham, Mass. - Amesbury (DE 66) fitting out at her builder's yard, while an unidentified sister ship fits out at right.

    (Photo from the U.S. National Archives, RG-19-LCM. Photo # 19-N-85626 as printed in "The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships")    		 Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    ***HMS Calder / Amesbury*** 100k 15 July 1943: Hingham, Mass. - USS Amesbury (DE 66) and USS Lee Fox (DE 65) in the background during the handing over and commissioning ceremony for HMS Calder.

    (Photo from the private collection of Electrical Artificer Ron Ayres as printed in "The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War" by Donald Collingwood)
    Amesbury History
    View the USS Amesbury (DE 66 / APD 46) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Amesbury as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Amesbury's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 31 Aug. 1943 - 10 May 1944Lcdr. Allen Bond Adams Jr. (Comm. CO)
    2.) 10 May 1944 - .. Nov. 1945Lcdr. Arthur Banks Wilbor, USNR
    3.) .. Nov. 1945 - 01 Feb. 1946Lcdr. Mark Martin Gantar
    4.) 01 Feb. 1946 - 02 Apr. 1946Lt.(jg) Jay Arthur Silverstein, USNR
    5.) 02 Apr. 1946 - .. May 1946Lt.(jg) George Mason Ivey Jr., USNR
    6.) .. May 1946 - 03 Jul. 1946Lt. Clair Whitman Heaton, USNR (Decomm.)
    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
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    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 12 April 2020