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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patch courtesy of Navsource

USS Pettit (DE 253)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - F - L - N

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Second Row: Asia-Pacific Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - 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

Pettit (DE 253) Building and Operational Data:

06 February 1943: Keel laid by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.

28 April 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Robert Lee Pettit

23 September 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr. William B. Ellis, USCG, in command

06 May 1946: Decommissioned after 2 years and 7 months of service

01 August 1973: Struck from the NVR

30 September 1974: Sunk as target off Puerto Rico

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0625306	145k	undated wartime image	John Klar Somerville, N.J.
0625308	177k	03 May 1944: New York, N.Y. - A U.S. Coast Guard photo of USS *Pettit* (DE 253) in New York Harbor. Pettit in company with other units of Escort Division 20 had just accompanied convoy UC-20 from the United Kingdom to New York. She was bound for the Brooklyn Navy Yard in this photo. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH78755* from the* Naval History and Heritage Command)	Darryl Baker PNCM, USNR (ret.) Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
0625302	38k	USS *Pettit*, taken sometime between 15 Nov 1945 and 04 Feb 1946 at the South Boston Navy Yard.	Vincent Grobbel BM1, USCG USS Davenport (PG 69)
0625303	130k	assembly of crew on deck with flags "V" and "J" just after we received the news that Japan was going to surrender. Photo was taken in the South Pacific.	Dr. Martin Davis USS Pettit (45-46)
0625304	93k	A prayer service on deck on VJ Day. Location South Pacific.
0625305	62k	The *Pettit* stack symbol. It was designed by a crewman and it shows the Disney characters Hughie, Dewey and Louie. Walt Disney approved and personally added the final touches on the symbol. The three little fellows are throwing over a depth charge, using binoculars, and wearing earphones. The symbol is still alive with the *Pettit* crew in correspondence and shirt designs.
0625307	288k	undated: Norfolk, Va. - *Pettit* (DE 253) and *Cockrill* (DE 398) laid up in the Inactive Ship Facility of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard awaiting disposal.	Nick Tiberio Shelton, Conn.

Pettit History
View the USS Pettit (DE 253) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

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

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 23 Sep. 1943 - 01 Feb. 1945	Lcdr. William B. Ellis, USCG (Stamford, Conn.)
2.) 01 Feb. 1945 - 30 Oct. 1945	Lt. Woodward B. Rick, USCGR (Baltimore, Md.)
3.) 30 Oct. 1945 -	Lt. Louis A. Volse, USCGR (Los Angeles, Cal.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Dr. Martin Davis
Address: 15 Grouse Lane / Huntington NY 11743
Phone: (631) 673-1199
Fax: (631) 549-6854
E-mail: perspectives2000 at yahoo.com

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
Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Pettit

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This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
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