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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Koiner (DE 331)


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




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row: Navy Occupation Service Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star - Korean Service Medal (USCG Service)
Fourth Row: Vietnam Service Medal w/ 6 stars - United Nations Korean Service Medal (USCG Service) - 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
Koiner (DE 331) Building and Operational Data:
  • 26 July 1943: Keel laid at the Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Tex.
  • 05 September 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Mae H. Koiner, the mother of Lt.(j.g.) Koiner
  • 27 December 1943: Commissioned at the Orange City Dock, Lcdr. C. S. Judson, Jr., USNR, in command
  • 04 October 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years and 9¼ months of service
  • 20 June 1951: Loaned to USCG and Recommissioned as WDE 431, assigned to Ocean Station Duty at Seattle, Wash. (Koiner and Falgout were the first two DE's transferred to the Coast Guard)
  • 14 May 1954: Returned USN and Decommissioned after 2 years and 11 months of service
  • 28 October 1954: Reclassified and converted DER 331
  • 26 August 1955: Recommissioned, Lcdr. V. W. Tracy, USN, in command; assigned to the Continental Air Defense System in the Pacific Barrier
  • 01 July 1965: Homeport assignment changed to Agana, Guam
  • 23 September 1968: Decommissioned and struck from the NVR with a total of 18 years and 9¼ months of service
  • 03 September 1969: Sold for scrapping
    i
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Koiner
    0633102    		 104k 24 May 1945 Thomas F. Connors
    MoMM 1/C
    Koiner
    0633103    		 70k 24 May 1945
    Koiner
    0633104    		 73k 26 July 1944
    Koiner
    0633114    		 551k 24 May 1945: the Atlantic Ocean - USS Koiner (DE 331) southbound enroute to Norfollk, Virginia. From 2 to 22 May she had been undergoing overhaul in the New York Navy Yard Annex at Bayonne, New Jersey. On the 23rd she left Bayonne and loaded ammunition at the Naval Weapons Depot, Leonardo, N.J. After spending the night anchored off Sandy Hook, she departed for Casco Bay, Maine in company with Kretchmer (DE 329) and O'Reilly (DE 330). At 02:30 on the 25th of May they were ordered to reverse course and head to Norfolk, Virginia where they were immediately re-routed to Culebra Island in the Caribbean.

    (U.S. Navy Photo #80-G-323933 from the United States National Archives)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Koiner
    0633105    		 31kAs U.S. Coast Guard WDE 431 -
    Koiner
    0633111    		 593k 26 August 1955: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal. - Bow view of USS Koiner (DER 331) during her commissioning ceremonies at Mare Island. The stern of the USS Mountrail (APA 213) is just visible aft of Koiner.

    (U.S. Navy photo #DER 331 26352-8-55 from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum)    		 Darryl Baker
    PNCM, USNR (ret.)

    Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
    Koiner
    0633102    		 721k 26 August 1955: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal. - Stern view of USS Koiner (DER 331) during her commissioning ceremonies at Mare Island. The USS Rasher (SSR 269) is forward of Koiner.

    (U.S. Navy photo #DER 331 26356-8-55 from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum)
    Koiner
    0633106    		 143k 26 August 1955: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal. - Commissioning ceremonies of USS Koiner (DER 331).

    (U.S. Navy photo #DER 331 26355-8-55 from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum)
    Koiner
    0633115    		 549k 14 September 1955: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal. - USS Koiner (DER 331), 135° off-centerline, on post-commissioning sea trials.

    (U.S. Navy photo #NY9-26478-9-55 from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum)
    Koiner
    0633107    		 447k circa 1956: location unknown

    (U.S. Navy Photo)    		 David Wright
    Destroyer Archives
    Manager, Navsource
    Koiner
    0633108    		 51k Late 1950's Mike Sheen
    USS Koiner, 1959-1961
    Koiner
    0633113    		 309k undated image Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Koiner
    0633109    		 56k 03 June 1963 Thomas F. Connors
    MoMM 1/C
    Koiner
    0633110    		 102k 1965: San Francisco Navy Yard - Koiner and USS Atlanta (IX 304) lie across the pier from USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14).

    (From the USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14) Cruise Book, 1965-66)    		 Gene McCallister
    Koiner History
    View the USS Koiner (DE 331) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Koiner as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Koiner's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
                U. S. Navy as DE-331
    1.)  27 Dec. 1943 – 21 May 1945Lcdr. Charles Sterling Judson Jr., USNR (Comm. CO) (ROTC '36) (Coronado, Cal.)
    2.)  21 May 1945 – 05 Jun. 1946Lt./Lcdr. Jack M. Althouse, USNR (Waterloo, Iowa)
    3.)  05 Jun. 1946 – 04 Oct. 1946Lt. William F. McCue, USN (Decomm. CO)
                U. S. Coast Guard as WDE-431
    4.)  20 Jun. 1951 – Dec. 1952Cmdr. Frank Vincent Helmer, USCG (Comm. CO) (USCGA '35) (South Plainfield, N. J.) (ret. as Radm.)
    5.)  Dec. 1952 – 14 May 1954Lcdr. William Freeland Rea III, USCG (Decomm. CO) (USCGA '42) (Vicksburg, Miss.) (ret. as Vadm.)
                U. S. Navy as DER-331
    6.)  26 Aug. 1955 – 21 Aug. 1957Lcdr. Vern Willard Tracy, USN
    7.)  21 Aug. 1957 – 02 Sep. 1957Lt. Albert Francis Shimmel, USN (acting) (USNA ‘48B)
    8.)  02 Sep. 1957 – 1958Lcdr. Vern Willard Tracy, USN
    9.)  1958 – 30 Nov. 1959Lcdr. Thomas Fletcher Utegaard, USN (USNA ‘45)
    10.) 30 Nov. 1959 – 03 Mar. 1961Lcdr. James Thomas Bowen, USN (USNA ‘47)
    11.) 03 Mar. 1961 – 14 Aug. 1962Lcdr. William Beck Jr., USN
    12.) 14 Aug. 1962 – 31 Jan. 1964Lcdr. Donald Lee Stephenson, USN
    13.) 31 Jan. 1964 – 05 Jul. 1965Lcdr. Julian Cleveland Patrick, USN (USNA ‘54)
    14.) 05 Jul. 1965 – 04 Feb. 1967Lcdr. Eddie Frederick Best, USN (USNA ‘53) (Bessemer, Ala.)
    15.) 04 Feb. 1967 – 21 Sep. 1968Lcdr. John William Sellers, USN (USNA ‘54) (Terre Haute, Ind.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Crew Contact: Mac Christy, ENC, USN (ret.)
    E-mail: machief at hughes.net
    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
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Koiner
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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: 28 June 2023