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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Tomich (DE 242)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Y - I - C
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 - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - WWII Victory Medal
Specifications:
Class: Edsall
Type: FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1200 tons (light), 1590 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 20' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 9,100 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: 8 / 201
Tomich (DE 242) Building and Operational Data:
  • 15 September 1942: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.
  • 28 December 1942: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. O. L. Hammonds
  • 27 July 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr. H. A. Hull in command
  • 20 September 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years and 1¾ months of service
  • 01 November 1972: Struck from the NVR
  • 18 January 1974: Sold for scrapping
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Tomich
    0624201

    Tomich

    		 8k Peter Tomich was born on 03 June 1893 at Prolog, Austria, in what later became Yugoslavia. After enlisting in the U.S. Navy in January 1919, he initially served in the destroyer Litchfield. By 1941, he had become a Chief Watertender on board the training and target ship Utah. When that ship was torpedoed during Japan's 07 December 1941 raid on Pearl Harbor, Tomich was on duty in a boiler room. As Utah began to capsize, he remained below, securing the boilers and making certain that other men escaped, and so lost his life. For his "distinguished conduct and extraordinary courage" at that time, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Since Peter Tomich was an immigrant, his next-of-kin could never be found, and his medal resided aboard USS Tomich until her decommissioning. This link tells The Saga Of Chief Watertender Peter Tomich's Medal Of Honor.

    USS Tomich (DE 242) (1943-1946) was the first ship named in his honor.

    (U.S. Navy photo #NH 79953 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)    		 Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource Archive Manager
    DE / FF / LCS Archive
    Tomich
    0624202    		 63k undated wartime image -
    Tomich History
    View the USS Tomich (DE 242) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    Tomich's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.) 27 Jul. 1943 - .. Dec. 1943Lcdr. Hadlai A. Hull, USNR (Comm. CO) (New London, Conn.)
    2.) .. Dec. 1943 - 12 Jun. 1945Lcdr. Charles B. Brown (New York, N.Y.)
    3.) 12 Jun. 1945 - 20 Sep. 1946Lt. Reed Whitney (Decomm. CO)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Contact Name: Harold Roth
    Address: RR1 Box 136
    City/State: Kampsville IL 62053
    Phone: (618) 576-2606
    E-mail: Harold Roth
    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
    Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Tomich
    To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page
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    This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 27 February 2014