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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Alexander J. Luke (DE 577)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - H - N - R
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal
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
Alexander J. Luke (DE 577) Building and Operational Data:
  • 05 November 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard Co., Hingham, Mass.
  • 28 December 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Catherine B. Luke, mother of Sgt. Luke
  • 19 February 1944: Commissioned at Hingham, Mass., Lcdr. Herbert A. Peterson, USNR, in command
  • 26 - 31 October 1945: Observed the National Navy Day Celebration at Newburgh, N.Y. in company with USS Scott (DE 214)
  • 07 December 1945: Redesignated DER 577, conversion completed at the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 18 October 1947: Decommissioned at Charleston, S.C. after 3 years and 8 months of service
  • 01 December1954: Redesignated DE 577
  • 01 May 1970: Struck from the NVR
  • 22 October 1970: Sold, scrapped
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657706    		 70k 01 June 1946: New York City - Alexander J. Luke (DE 577) following her conversion to a radar picket ship.

    (Naval History and Heritage Command Photo #NH 79724, Photo and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships) (Note: appears to be the same photo as below from a slightly different angle)    		 Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657702    		 67k Undated Wartime Image

    (U.S. Navy photo)    		 B.J. Crawford
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657703    		 27k Late '44 - Early '45, North Atlantic

    (U.S. Navy photo)
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657704    		 69k Crewmembers at Casco Bay Maine, 26 December 1944

    (Photo © B.J. Crawford)
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657705    		 36k Undated Wartime Image

    (U.S. Navy photo)
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657707    		 261k May 1970: Philadelphia, Pa. - ex-Alexander J. Luke (DE 577) laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, in May 1970. Among the DE's in the background is ex-Melvin R. Nawman (DE 416).

    (U.S. Navy photo #NH 79812 courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1974, from the Naval History and Heritage Command)     		Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Alexander J. Luke
    0657708    		 220k 20 October 1970: the Delaware River - ex-Alexander J. Luke (DE 577) being towed downriver by USS Recovery (ARS 43) enroute to the scrappers.

    (Photo by David M. Boone, Marine Artist, Camden, N.J.)
    Alexander J. Luke History
    View the USS Alexander J. Luke (DE 577) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Alexander J. Luke's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)  19 Feb. 1944 - 16 Apr. 1944Lcdr. Herbert Augustus Peterson, USNR (Comm. CO) (New York, N.Y.)
    2.)  16 Apr. 1944 - 24 Nov. 1944Lcdr. John Voorhees Cameron (USNA '39) (Reno, Nev.)
    3.)  24 Nov. 1944 - 14 Dec. 1944Lt. Adrian W. Rich, USNR (Fairmount, W.V.)
    4.)  14 Dec. 1944 - .. Mar. 1946Lcdr. Lawrence M. Griffin, USNR (Pasadena, Cal.)
    5.)  .. Mar. 1946 - 18 Oct. 1947Lcdr. John Dandridge Henley Kane Jr., USN (Decomm. CO) (USNA '42) (Newport, R.I.)
    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: 18 February 2023