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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Kephart (DE 207 / APD 61)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - F - I - W
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 5 stars - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Third Row: - WWII Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ Asia Clasp - Philippine Liberation Medal w/ 2 stars
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
Kephart (DE 207) Building and Operational Data:
  • 12 May 1943: Keel laid by the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • 06 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. A. P. Kephart, mother
  • 07 January 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr I. H. Cammarn in command
  • 05 July 1944: Reclassified APD61, converted at New York
  • 21 June 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 5½ months of service
  • 01 May 1967: Struck from the NVR
  • 23 July 1967: Transferred (MAP sale) to South Korea, renamed ROKS Kyong Puk (PF-85) (struck 30 April 1985, scrapped)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Kephart
    0620702    		 6k undated wartime image -
    Kephart
    0620703    		 24k undated wartime image Cal Shugart
    Kephart
    0620704    		 242k undated wartime image Harold S. Deal
    Phm 1/c, USS Liddle
    from his grandson
    Jeff Deal
    Kephart
    0620705    		 172k
    Kephart
    0620706    		 139k
    Kephart History
    View the USS Kephart (DE 207 / APD 61) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Kephart's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 07 Jan. 1944 - 19 Jun. 1945Lcdr. Irven Harper Cammarn, USNR (Fostoria, Oh.) (ret. as Radm.)
    2.) 19 Jun. 1945 - 31 Dec. 1945Lcdr. Robert Michael Matthews, Jr., USNR
    3.) 01 Apr. 1946 - 30 Apr. 1946Lt.(jg) Roy James Banner, Jr., USNR
    4.) 30 Apr. 1946 - 01 Jun. 1946 Lt.(jg) Robert Jonathan Quist, USNR
    5.) 01 Jun. 1946 - 21 Jun. 1946Lt. Clarence Roy McKeely, USNR (Decomm)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    2009 Reunion for the Battle of Ormoc Bay Association
    10 - 14 September 2009
    Crown Plaza Hotel at Alexandria, Va.
    Contact: Irwin J. Kappes
    Address: 522 North Shore
    City/State: Tinton Falls NJ 07753
    Phone: (732) 922-6438
    E-mail: Irwin Kappes
    or
    Contact: William M. Dallam (Sec'y/Treas., Ormoc Bay Assoc.)
    Address: 117 Tuscarora St.
    City/State: Harrisburg PA 17104
    E-mail: William Dallam
    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
    Navsource APD Pages, USS Kephart (APD 61)
    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

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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: 20 July 2021