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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Brister (DE 327)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - H - S - E
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Switzerland"
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon - Navy Unit Commendation - China Service Medal
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Third Row: World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Fourth Row: Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/ 1 star - Vietnam Service Medal w/ 5 stars - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Specifications:
Class: Edsall
Type: FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1200 tons (light), 1590 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 20' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 9,100 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: 8 / 201
Brister (DE 327) Building and Operational Data:
  • 14 June 1943: Keel laid by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.
  • 24 August 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Blanche Brister, mother of Ensign Brister
  • 30 November 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr L. H. Crosby, USNR, in command
  • 04 October 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 10 months of service
  • 02 September 1955: Entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for DER conversion
  • 21 October 1955: Reclassified DER 327
  • 02 July 1956: Recommissioned and assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet
  • 21 September 1968: Decommissioned after 12 years and 2⅔ months of service
  • 23 September 1968: Struck from the NVR with a total of 15 years and ⅔ month's service
  • 03 November 1971: Sold for scrapping to Chi Shun Hua Steel Co., Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Brister 25k June 1945

    (U.S. Navy photo)    		 -
    Brister 56k undated wartime image

    (U.S. Navy photo)
    Brister 885k undated wartime image

    (U.S. Navy photo #CP-DE-327 19-N-84982 from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.; courtesy of  Chris Wright)    		 Ed Zajkowski
    Narvon, Pa.
    Lowe 207k Undated Post-Conversion Photo Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Brister 95k November 1961: entering Guam Ron Tone
    Brister 35k November 1961: in drydock
    Brister 93k October 1968: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

    (Photo © Richard Leonhardt)    		 Richard Leonhardt
    Bethlehem, Pa.
    Brister
    Memorabilia
    Ship's Lighter
    Brister
    Courtesy of
    Tommy Trampp
    Brister History
    View the USS Brister (DE 327) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Brister as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Brister's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
          U.S. Navy as DE-327
    1.)  30 Nov. 1943 – 22 Dec. 1944Lcdr. Lawton H. Crosby, USNR (Comm. CO) (Lake Bluff, Ill.)
    2.)  22 Dec. 1944 – 21 Jul. 1945Lcdr. Richard D. Tucker, USNR (Mill Neck, N.Y.)
    3.)  21 Jul. 1945 – 11 Nov. 1945Lcdr. Francis C. Cady, USNR
    4.)  11 Nov. 1945 – 19 Aug. 1946Lt. / Lcdr. Herbert T. Wordell, USNR
    5.)  19 Aug. 1946 – 14 Sep. 1946Lt. David Stafford Sterrett, USN (Erie, Pa.)
    6.)  14 Sep. 1946 - 04 Oct. 1946Lt. Clinton Jerome Merritt, USN (Decomm. CO)
          U.S. Navy as DER-327
    7.)  21 Jul. 1956 – 12 Nov. 1957Lcdr. Joseph John Cote (Recomm. CO)
    8.)  23 Nov. 1957 – 04 Mar. 1960Lcdr. Thomas Charles Young
    9.)  04 Mar. 1960 – 15 Dec. 1961Lcdr. Glenn Wesley Wineman (Mercer, Pa.)
    10.) 15 Dec. 1961 – 26 Sep. 1963Lcdr. Douglas Lloyd Newgard (Thurston, Wash..)
    11.) 26 Sep. 1963 – 18 Sep. 1964Lcdr. Arthur Adolph Strunk
    12.) 27 Sep. 1964 – 13 Jul. 1967Lcdr. Charles Patrick Pfarrer Jr. (USNA '54) (Dayton, Oh.)
    13.) 13 Jul. 1967 - 26 Jul. 1968Lcdr. Billy Jerl White (prior enl.) (Grantsville, W.V.)
    14.) 26 Jul. 1968 - 21 Sep. 1968Lcdr. George Eugene O'Brien (Decomm. CO) (USNA '57)
    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
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    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 24 November 2018