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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Corbesier (DE 438)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - K - N - T
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
Second Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal
Specifications:
Class: John C. Butler
Type: WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1350 tons (light), 1745 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 cal. DP guns (2x1), 4 - 40mm AA (2x2), 10 - 20mm AA, 3 - 21" TT, 1 Mk10 Hedgehog, 8 Mk6 Depth Charge Projectors, 2 Mk9 Depth Charge Stern Racks
Complement: 14 / 201
Corbesier (DE 438) Building and Operational Data:
  • 04 November 1943: Keel laid at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.
  • 13 February 1944: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. G. V. Stewart of Front Royal, Va.
  • 31 March 1944: Commissioned at 1203 while moored to Berth 11, New York Navy Yard, by Cmdr. H. F. Sasse, USN (ret.) for ComNYNYd; Lcdr. W. B. Porter in command
  • 23 January 1945: Corbesier, in company with Conklin (DE 439) and Raby (DE 698) sank the Japanese submarine I-48 off Yap, the Caroline Islands
  • 01 June 1946: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 2 years and 3 months of service; having steamed 108,146 miles
  • 31 July 1946: Inactivated at San Diego, Cal., assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • 01 December 1972: Struck from the NVR
  • 03 December 1973: Sold for scrapping
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Corbesier 48k Antoine Joseph Corbesier was born in Belgium on 22 January 1837. At age 28, after serving in the Belgian army, he emigrated to America. In October of 1865, he was appointed swordmaster of the United States Naval Academy. For more than 49 years he served in that position and was beloved by Midshipmen. Professor Corbesier was an interesting and conspicuous figure in the history of the Naval Academy for nearly half a century. Possessed of a stern though lovable nature, he won the high esteem and affection of all with whom he came in contact. In 1915 every graduate of the Naval Academy on the active list of the navy, except the admiral of the navy, had been under the military instruction of Professor Corbesier, and he was respected by thousands of men in all walks of life who have known him through their attendance at the Naval Academy. By a special act of Congress, he was given the rank of first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on 04 March 1913. He died in the Naval Hospital at Annapolis on 26 March 1915. The funeral services were held in the Naval Academy Chapel, and the interment took place in the Naval Academy Cemetery. All officers, and the regiment of midshipmen, attended as mourners to pay their last tribute to a man who had always shown in himself a good example of "virtue, honor, patriotism, and subordination."

    USS Corbesier (DE 438) (1944-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 51707 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Corbesier 165k Obituary: Antoine Joseph Corbesier
    Corbesier 122k Undated Wartime Images Steven Mortenson
    Corbesier Historian
    (son of crewmember Stanley Mortenson)
    Corbesier 206k
    Corbesier 242k Undated Wartime Image Nick Tiberio
    Shelton, Conn.
    Corbesier 219k 27 May 1944: the East River, New York Harbor - USS Corbesier (DE 438) in Measure 31/22d camouflage scheme off the New York Navy Yard two months after being commissioned. She had been in the Yard for post-shakedown availability from 20 to 27 May, when she shifted her berth to Pier 35 of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Annex for resupply.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #L45-64.04.01 from the Naval Subjects Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Corbesier
    Memorabilia
    Launch
    Button
    Corbesier
    Courtesy of
    Tom Kermen
    Corbesier History
    View the USS Corbesier (DE 438) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View the official War History of USS Corbesier as submitted by the ship at war's end.
    Corbesier's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 31 Mar. 1944 - 21 Jul. 1944Lcdr. William Baxter Porter, USN (USNA '33) (Washington, D.C.) (Comm. CO)
    2.) 21 Jul. 1944 - 07 Nov. 1945Lt. / Lcdr. Herbert Vincent Jones Jr., USNR
    3.) 07 Nov. 1945 - 11 Mar. 1946Lt. Edward Burnett Van Voorhees, USNR
    4.) 11 Mar. 1946 - 02 Jul. 1946Lt. Paul L. Wright Jr., USNR (Decomm. CO)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: R. L. Jones
    Address: 202 McGowan Avenue
    City/State: Bardstown KY 40004
    Phone: (502) 350-3443
    E-mail: jones809913@aol.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, 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
    USS Corbesier Page on Military.Com
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
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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 May 2020