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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
    Pettit
    0625306    		 145k undated wartime image John Klar
    Somerville, N.J.
    Pettit
    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)
    Pettit
    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)
    Pettit
    0625304    		 93k A prayer service on deck on VJ Day. Location South Pacific.
    Pettit
    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.
    Pettit
    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. 1945Lcdr. William B. Ellis, USCG (Stamford, Conn.)
    2.) 01 Feb. 1945 - 30 Oct. 1945Lt. 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
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    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
    All pages copyright Navsource Naval History
    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 16 November 2018