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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Decker (DE 47)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Z - B - D
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row: American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/1 star - WWII Victory Medal
Specifications:
Class: Evarts
Type: GMT (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1,140 tons (light), 1,430 tons (full)
Length: 283' 6" (wl), 289' 5" (oa)
Beam: 35' 0" (extreme)
Draft: 11' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 19 kts
Range: 4,150 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 3 - 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 - 1.1"/75 cal. Mk2 quad AA (4x1), 9 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks
Complement: 15 / 183
Decker (DE 47) Building and Operational Data:
  • 01 April 1942: Keel laid as BDE 47 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • 24 July 1942: Launched
  • 04 March 1943: Renamed Decker (DE 47)
  • 03 May 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr A. B. Adams Jr., in command
  • 28 October 1945: Decommissioned at Key West, Fla. after 2 years and 6¾ months of service, Leased to China, renamed ROCS Tai Ping (PF-22), escaped with Nationalist forces to Taiwan
  • 07 February 1948: Permanently transferred to China (torpedoed and sunk by Communist PT boats off Tachen Island, 14 November 1954)
  • 12 March 1948: Struck from the NVR
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Decker
    0604702    		 145k October 1943: Brooklyn, N.Y. - Two views of Decker at the New York Navy Yard. She was in for her first yard availability following her initial convoy escort assignment. It appears that some of the items added or changed were floater net bins and life raft mounting stations. Pieter Bakels
    Wehl, The Netherlands
    Decker
    0604705    		 258k Ed Zajkowski
    Narvon, Pa.
    Decker
    0604703    		 32k starboard side, undated -
    Decker
    0604706    		 86k 30 August 1944: Boston, Mass. - Starboard side and port bow view view of USS Decker anchored off Boston wearing MS32/3D camouflage scheme. Decker is configured with a HF/DF main mast.

    (U.S. Navy, Bureau of Shipping, Catalog #BS 70382 and #BS 70383 from the United States National Archives)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Decker
    0604707    		 264k
    Decker
    0604704    		 47k circa 1947: ROCS Tai Ping underway. Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    ***Wyffels***
    0600604    		 72k 04 February 1954: Tai Ping moored outboard of ROCS Tai Kang (ex-USS Wyffels/ DE 6).
    Decker History
    View the USS Decker (DE 47) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View a short article on the design and development of the Evarts Class DE submitted by Bob Sables.
    Decker's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 03 May 1943 - 01 Jul. 1943Lcdr. Alan Bond Adams Jr., USN (Comm. CO) (USNA '32) (Newcomerstown, Oh.)
    2.) 01 Jul. 1943 - 21 Dec. 1943Lcdr. Donald M. Kerr, USNR
    3.) 21 Dec. 1943 - 12 Mar. 1945Lcdr. Hiram Sydney Cody Jr., USNR (Evanston, Ill.)
    4.) 12 Mar. 1945 - 28 Aug. 1945Lt. Robert D. Martin, USNR (Decomm.)
    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
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
    Back To The Main Photo Index

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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: 25 October 2023