Please Report Any Broken Links Or Trouble You Might Come Across To The Webmaster
Please Take A Moment To Let Us Know So That We Can Correct Any Problems And Make Your Visit As Enjoyable And As Informative As Possible.

Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Burke (DE 215 / APD 65)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Z - H - X

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Second Row: World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal - Philippine Liberation Ribbon

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

Burke (DE 215) Building and Operational Data:

01 January 1943: Keel laid by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.

03 April 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Miriam Katherine Burke, the widow of Lt. Comdr. Burke

20 August 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr Edwin K. Winn in command

25 January 1945: Conversion to APD begun at Sullivan's Drydock and Repair Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y., reclassified APD 65

08 April 1945: Conversion completed

22 June 1949: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 5 years and 10 months of service

01 June 1968: Struck from the NVR

12 August 1968: Transferred (MAP sale) to Colombia, renamed ARC Almirante Brion (DT-07) (stricken, scrapped, 1974)

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0621501	48k	John Edward Burke was born on 24 January 1905 in Bismarck, N.D. He was commissioned ensign upon graduation from the Naval Academy in 1928. Burke saw service afloat before serving as aircraft gunnery observer with the Battle Force Torpedo School. Service in USS *Wasp* (CV 7) was followed by periods of training duty. On 02 February 1942 Lt. Comdr. Burke reported to *South Dakota* (BB 57) at the New York Shipbuilding Corp. in Camden, N.J., for duty as air defense officer. The battleship was commissioned on 20 March and, following shakedown training, headed for the Pacific. Just after midnight on 15 November 1942, *South Dakota* engaged a Japanese bombardment group under Admiral Kondo off Guadalcanal. *South Dakota* took 42 hits which killed 30 crewmen and caused considerable damage. Lt. Comdr. Burke was one of those killed. Lt. Comdr. Burke was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. USS *Burke* (DE 215) (1943-1949) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo from the U.S. Naval Academy Yearbook; The Lucky Bag, Class of 1928.)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0621402	102k	03 April 1943: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - USS *Burke* (DE 215) awaits her turn as USS *Scott* (DE 214) is launched.	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0621502	63k	June 1944 (USN photo #19N66900)	Nick Tiberio Shelton, Conn.
0621503	442k	undated wartime image	Ed Zajkowski Narvon, Pa.

Burke History
View the USS Burke (DE 215 / APD 65) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

Burke's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 20 Aug. 1943 - 16 Jan. 1944	Lcdr. Edwin Kevin Winn, USNR (Comm. CO)
2.) 16 Jan. 1944 - 28 Feb. 1945	Lcdr. William Lawrence Dommerich, USNR (Greenwich, Conn.)
3.) 01 Apr. 1945 - 31 Oct. 1946	Lcdr. Robert Emil Newmann
4.) 01 Nov. 1946 - 01 Feb. 1947	Lcdr. William Jerrold McNulty
5.) .. Mar. 1947 - .. Apr. 1947	Lt. John Raymond McKee, USNR
6.) .. Apr. 1947 - .. Jun. 1947	Lt. William Warren Kelchner
7.) .. Jun. 1947 - .. .... 1948	Lcdr Herbert Fox Rommel, Jr., USNR (Philadelphia, Pa.)
8.) 01 Jun. 1948 - 22 Jun. 1949	Lt. Thomas Francis Reddington, Jr. (Decomm. CO)

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

To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page

Back To The Main Photo Index

Comments, Suggestions, E-mail: Webmaster.

This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
All pages copyright Navsource Naval History