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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE 54 / APD 38)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - X - N - O
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/1 star - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - 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
Daniel T. Griffin (DE 54) Building and Operational Data:
  • 07 September 1942: Keel laid by the Bethlehem Steel Corp. Hingham, Mass.
  • 25 February 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. D. T. Griffin
  • 09 June 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr P. M. Fenton, USNR, in command
  • 23 October 1944: Reclassified APD 38, conversion commenced the Brooklyn Navy Yard
  • 30 May 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years of service
  • 15 November 1966: Transferred to Chile, renamed Virgilio Uribe (APD-29) (decommissioned and scrapped, 1995)
  • 01 December 1966: Struck from the NVR
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    Daniel T. Griffin

    Daniel T. Griffin    		 34k



    96k    		 Daniel Thornburg Griffin, the son of Pearl Daniel Griffin and Pernia Myretta Thornburg Griffin, was born 25 March 1911 in Allendale, Ill. He enlisted in the Navy on 06 October 1930 and served in USS California (BB 44), USS Tennessee (BB 43) and USS Saratoga (CV 3). He graduated as a Naval Aviation Pilot in 1938 and was stationed at Pearl Harbor to fly patrol missions with water borne aircraft. On 07 December 1941 he was serving with Patrol Squadron 12 at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He was shot down as he got airborne responding to Japanese attackers and killed by machine gun fire while swimming to shore. Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class Griffin was posthumously awarded a Special Letter of Commendation by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, for his prompt and efficient action and his utter disregard of personal danger in the defense of Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay. Interred at Pearl Harbor in 1941, his body was moved in 1947 to its' final resting place in Evergreen Cemetery at Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was recognized as the first American casualty in WWII.

    USS Daniel T. Griffen (DE 54 / APD 38) (1943-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor.

    (Photo from the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Archive Manager
    DE / FF / LCS Archive
    Navsource
    Daniel T. Griffin 109k undated wartime photo Cal Shugart
    Daniel T. Griffin 100k undated wartime photo -
    Daniel T. Griffin 93k undated: The United States Navy destroyer escort USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE 54). Shown is a good overhead view of the bridge and deck layout. Note the torpedo withdrawn from its tube for servicing, the quad 1.1" gun fitted aft, and the hose being played on the anchor whilst weighing. Disposition of the midship gun tubs is well shown as are eight K guns, each with a reload rack adjacent.

    (U.S. Navy Official Photo; scanned from American Destroyer Escorts of World War 2, by Peter Elliott)    		 Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Daniel T. Griffin  1.) 292k   Daniel T. Griffin  2.) 319k   Daniel T. Griffin 3.) 321

    1944: location unknown - A three view series of USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE 54) making approaches to an unidentified vessel.    		 David Wright

    Archive Manager
    Destroyer Archive
    Navsource
    Daniel T. Griffin 356k 17 April 1944: Starboard quarter aerial view of the USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE 54). Griffin had completed a ten day yard availability at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on this date and was enroute to the Naval Ammunition Depot at Iona Island, in the Hudson River off Stony Point, N.Y., to reload ammunition. She then got underway, with Escort Division 6, for the New London Training Area.

    (U.S. Navy Photo #80-G-224737 from the United States National Archives)    		 Mike Green
    Port Angeles, Wash.
    Daniel T. Griffin History
    View the USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE 54) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Daniel T. Griffin's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 09 Jun. 1943 - 01 Oct. 1943Lcdr. P. M. Fenton, USNR (Comm. CO)
    2.) 02 Oct. 1943 - 01 Jan. 1944Lt. F. Denfield, USNR
    3.) 01 Apr. 1944 - 03 Apr. 1945Lcdr. J. A. Eastwood, USNR
    4.) 02 Jul. 1945 - 03 Oct. 1945Lt. Egbert R. Ferguson Jr., USNR (Cincinnati, Oh.)
    5.) 03 Jan. 1946 - 30 May 1946Lcdr. Edgar W. Lakin, USNR (New York, N.Y.)
    6.) 30 May 1946 - 30 May 1946Lt.(jg) D. H. Cameron, USNR (Decomm. CO)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: Lester B. Phillips
    Address: 1525 Rosedale Lane #7
    City/State: Caņon City CO 81212
    Phone: (719) 269-1300
    E-mail: bjp212@amigo.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
    Navsource APD Pages, USS Daniel T. Griffin
    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: 28 March 2022