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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Spangenberg (DE 223)


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

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - Eurpean-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - WWII 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
Spangenberg (DE 223) Building and Operational Data:
  • 05 April 1943: Keel laid at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • 03 July 3 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Gussie Spangenberg, mother of Gunner's Mate Spangenberg
  • 15 April 1944: Commissioned, Lt. Thomas H. P. Whitney in command
  • 18 October 1947: Decommissioned at Charleston, S.C. after 3 years and 6 months of service
  • 01 November 1965: Struck from the NVR
  • 04 October 1966: Sold for scrapping to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Spangenberg
    0622301

    Spangenberg

    		 46k Kenneth Jerome Spangenberg was born on 14 May 1922 in Allentown, Pa. He enlisted in the Navy on 11 September 1940 at Philadelphia and, after basic training at Newport, R.I., was assigned to USS San Francisco (CA 38). Gunner's Mate Third Class Spangenberg died as a result of wounds received during the night action of
    12 and 13 November 1942 off Savo Island in the Solomons. "Although mortally wounded by hostile shell fire, Spangenberg, with grim determination in the face of intense
    pain and waning strength, continued to man his battle station until the engagement ended." For his extraordinary heroism, Gunner's Mate Spangenberg was posthumously
    awarded the Navy Cross.

    USS Spangenberg (DE 223) (1944-1947) was the first ship named in his honor.

    (Photo from the USS Spangenberg Web Site)    		 Bill Gonyo
    Downey, Cal.

    Assoc. Researcher
    Navsource
    Spangenberg
    0622303    		 229k 26 April 1944: Philadelphia, Pa. - Port view of destroyer escort USS Spangenberg (DE 223) underway, possibly off the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Spangenberg left the Navy Yard on the morning of the 26th to load ammunition at Fort Mifflin, Pa. After the onload, she anchored in Refuge Bay for the night.

    (U.S. Navy National Archives photo #USN 1035491 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Ed Zajkowski
    Narvon, Pa.
    Spangenberg
    0622302    		 44k circa 1945 just after war's end

    (U.S. Navy Photo)    		 Bernard Joseph O'Neill
    Spangenberg
    0622304    		 358k circa 1945 just after war's end (Photo from John's father, James Elmer Pertzborn, who served in USS Spangenberg during World War Two)

    (U.S. Navy Photo, Note: this is the same photo as the one before it. It was probably given to crewmembers as a remembrance of the ship.)    		 John Pertzborn
    Spangenberg History
    View the USS Spangenberg (DE 223) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Spangenberg's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves, & Russ Moody
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 15 Apr. 1944 - 31 Oct. 1945Lcdr. Thomas Handasyde Perkins Whitney (Comm. CO) (Boston, Mass.)
    2.) 02 Nov. 1945 - .. Mar. 1947Lcdr. William James Daly (Lawrence, Mass.)
    3.) .. Mar. 1947 - .. Jul. 1947Lcdr. George Ransom Brines, USNR (Decomm. CO) (Morton, Ill.)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: Carol Spangenberg Wolford
    E-mail: lwolford at ptd.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
    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

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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: 16 January 2020