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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's Emblems Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

Ship's Name Tab Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Coolbaugh (DE 217)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - G - C - X

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/3 stars
Second Row: WWII Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Philippine Liberation Ribbon

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

Coolbaugh (DE 217) Building and Operational Data:

22 February 1943: Keel laid at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.

29 May 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. A. Coolbaugh

15 October 1943: Commissioned at Philadelphia, Pa., Lcdr. L. S. Kintberger in command

.. January 1946: Changed homeport from the West Coast to Newport, R.I. as a unit of Escort Squadron 10

22 August 1957: Homeport changed to Key West, Fla. as a unit of Escort Squadron 12, assigned to the Fleet Sonar School

21 February 1959: Decommissioned and placed "in service" at the U. S. Naval Reserve Center, Bayboro Harbor, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Lt. S. T. Counts, USN, assumed command as Officer in Charge

26 May 1960: Placed "out of service" at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Orange, Tex. after 16 years and 7 months of service

01 July 1972: Struck from the NVR

17 August 1973: Sold for scrapping

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0621701	136k	Walter Wesley Coolbaugh was born on 01 August 1918 at Ransom, Pa. and enlisted in the Naval Reserve for aviation training 14 November 1940 after graduating from Keystone Junior College. He was attending American University in Washington, D.C. when he received his appointment as a Naval Aviation Cadet. On 07 December 1941 Walter was a dive bomber pilot on USS *Yorktown* (CV 5). While aboard *Yorktown* he was soon involved in some of the great naval conflicts in the Pacific, including Tulagi Harbor, the Marshall & Gilbert Islands, and the Coral Sea. It was as a result of his actions during the battle of the Coral Sea that he was awarded the Navy Cross. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) 01 October 1942. Prior to the loss of *Yorktown* at the battle of Midway, he was transferred to the USS *Saratoga* (CV 3) and then, after Midway, to the USS *Enterprise* (CV 6). In August 1942 he was in the group of eleven *Enterprise* aircraft that became known as Flight 300 when they flew to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal while it was cut off by surrounding Japanese forces. The Flight 300 aviators flew and fought from Guadalcanal until 27 September 1942, when their Douglas Dauntlesses expended in one way or another and they were evacuated by DC-3s. After his service on Guadalcanal and a brief leave at his home in Pennsylvania, Walter was reassigned to Bombing Squadron 12. On 19 December 1942, Lt.(jg) Walter W. Coolbaugh was lost at sea in the Pacific Ocean as a result of a mid-air collision during training operations. USS *Coolbaugh* (DE 217) (1943-1960) was the first ship named in his honor. (Photo and paraphrased biography from USS Coolbaugh web site.)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0619804	409k	13 March 1944: Espiritu Santo - USS *Coolbaugh* (DE 217), USS *Lovelace, and USS Darby* (DE 218) are nested with USS *Ingersoll* (DE 652) at the fleet anchorage. Photo taken by Milt Volkens aboard USS *Langley* (CVL 27). (From the Langley/Volkens Photo Collection at Eastern Carolina Univ.)	John Chiquoine West Chester, Pa.
0621602	82k	29 May 1943: Philadelphia Navy Yard - The christening of six destroyer escorts in a dry-dock at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The three ships in the foreground are (from left): USS *Enright* (DE 216), USS *Coolbaugh* (DE 217) and USS *Darby* (DE 218). Those in the background are (from left), USS *J. Douglas Blackwood* (DE 219), USS *Francis M. Robinson* (DE 220) and USS *Solar* (DE 221). (U.S. Navy Photo #NH 75610 from the Naval History and Heritage Command, Courtesy of James Russell, 1972)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0621702	136k	15 November 1945: Mare Island Navy Yard, San Francisco, Cal - Forward plan view of USS *Coolbaugh* (DE 217) at Mare Island. USS *J. Douglas Blackwood* (DE 219) is inboard of *Coolbaugh. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-217 7192-45*)	Darryl Baker PNCM, USNR (ret.) Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
0621703	186k	15 November 1945: Mare Island Navy Yard, San Francisco, Cal. - Aft plan view of *Coolbaugh* at Mare Island. *J. Douglas Blackwood* is inboard of *Coolbaugh. Coolbaugh* was in overhaul at the yard from 4 September to 17 November 1945. (U.S. Navy photo #DE-217 7191-45)
0621704	73k	*Coolbaugh* shown in original configuration with 3"/50 guns prior to conversion in 1945 when 5"/38's replaced the 3"/50's.	Edwin Wheat
0621705	83k	circa 1945	Robert Lamb
0621706	132k	undated post war image	Jerry Defoe
0621707	66k	circa 1954	Edwin Wheat
0621708	32k	circa 1955	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0621709	51k	circa 1957	J. Andrus
0621710	286k	1959: Port broadside aerial view of the destroyer escort USS *Coolbaugh* (DE 217) underway. (U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 1038488 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Navsource DE/FF/LCS Archive Manager

Coolbaugh Memorabilia
Quarterdeck Memorial Plaque Courtesy of Mike Smolinski	Souvenir Postcard of Havana, Cuba Courtesy of Nick Tiberio	1954 Ship's Itinerary Courtesy of Mike Smolinski	1954 Midshipman Cruise "Baker" Courtesy of Mike Smolinski

Coolbaugh History
View the USS Coolbaugh (DE 217) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View the official War History of USS Coolbaugh as submitted by the ship at war's end.

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

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 15 Oct. 1943 - 19 Feb. 1944	Lcdr. Leon Samuel Kintberger, USN (Comm. CO) (USNA '32) (Baltimore, Md.) (ret. as Radm.)
2.) 19 Feb. 1944 - 13 Jun. 1945	Cmdr. Stuart Trowbridge Hotchkiss, USNR (Madison, Conn.)
3.) 13 Jun. 1945 - 31 Jan. 1946	Lcdr. Stanley E. Zimmerman, USNR
4.) 31 Jan. 1946 - 01 May 1946	Lcdr. Kipling Wyckiffe Wise, USNR
5.) .. May 1946 - .. Jul. 1947	Lcdr. Edward Hughes Winslow, USN (USNA '42) (Dallas, Tex.)
6.) .. Jul. 1947 - .. Jun. 1949	Lcdr. Howard Lyons Stone Jr., USN (USNA '42) (Bridgeport, Conn.)
7.) .. Jun. 1949 - .. .... 1951	Lcdr. Albert Andrew Richards, USN
8.) .. .... 1951 - .. .... 1953	Cmdr. John Richard Lance Cassidy, USN (Bridgeport, Conn.)
9.) .. .... 1953 - .. .... 1955	Lcdr. Thomas Stanley McCarthy, USN (OCS '41) (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
10.) .. .... 1955 - 24 Aug. 1956	Lcdr. Paul Edward Arbo, USN (USNA ‘44) (New Orleans, La.)
11.) 24 Aug. 1956 - 14 Jan. 1958	Cmdr. William Warner Upshaw, USN (USNA ‘44) (Raleigh, N.C.)
12.) 14 Jan. 1958 - 21 Feb. 1959	Lcdr. William Jackson Tipler, USN (Stevenson, Ala.)
13.) 21 Feb. 1959 - 01 Apr. 1959	Lt. Stanley Thomas Counts, USN (OinC) (USNA ‘49) (Wichita, Kan.) (ret. as Radm.
14.) 01 Apr. 1959 - 10 Apr. 1959	Lt.(jg) H. A. Stark, USN (OinC)
15.) 10 Apr. 1959 - 01 Jul. 1959	Lt. R. W. Case, USN (OinC)
16.) 01 Jul. 1959 - 26 May 1960	Lt. Harry Walter Kinsley Jr., USN (Decomm. OinC) (Norwalk, Conn.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Last Known Reunion:
USS Coolbaugh (DE 217) Association's 28th Reunion
September 2015 at the Clarion Lexington North Hotel, Lexington, Ky
(held in conjunction with the DESA Convention)

Contact Name: Harvey Weiss
Address: 217 Rothwell Road
City/State: Taccoa GA 30577
Phone: (706) 886-2709
E-mail: nita55rw at hotmail.com
OR
Contact Name: Rodney Monnat
Address: 132 Doc Morrison Road
City/State: Sanbornville NH 03872
Phone: (603) 522-3316
E-mail: rmonnat at roadrunner.com

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 or rosters 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
Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Coolbaugh

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