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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Martin H. Ray (DE 338)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - T - N - G

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II 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

Martin H. Ray (DE 338) Building and Operational Data:

27 October 1943: Keel laid by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.

23 December 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Martin H. Ray Jr., widow of Lt. Ray

28 February 1944: Commissioned at the City Dock, Orange, Tex.; Lt. H. V. Tucker, Jr., in command

.. July 1947: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years and 4 months of service

01 May 1966: Struck from the NVR

30 March 1967: Sold for scrapping

Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
45k	Martin H. Ray Jr. was born 09 August 1913, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated in Yonkers, New York. After one year at New York University he entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating with the class of 1934. Following five years service on battleship USS *Pennsylvania* (BB 38), he received orders to USS *Hammann* (DD 412) in 1939. While assisting the stricken USS *Yorktown* (CV 5) in the last stages of the Battle of Midway, 06 June 1942, *Hammann* took a torpedo. Lieutenant Ray as engineering officer was lost attempting to save the rapidly sinking vessel and evacuate the space below decks. The Navy Cross was awarded "For extraordinary heroism and extreme disregard of personal safety....". USS *Martin H. Ray* (DE 338) (1944-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo from the U.S. Naval Academy Yearbook; The Lucky Bag, Class of 1934.)	Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
102k	undated wartime image [U.S. Navy photo, from the book "Allied Escort Ships of World War II (A Complete Survey)", by Peter Elliott]	Edib Krlicbegovic Bosnia - Hercegovina
133k	undated wartime image	Arnold Waxman Lcdr., USNR (Ret.) Ass't Eng. Officer August 1944 - July 1946
25k	swim party off fantail - Italy
34k	radar scope of convoy with 5 DE's in front screen and 1 in rear
82k	forward 3" guns #1 and #2
36k	fueling from astern
54k	securing cable to fuel alongside
50k	fueling alongside
49k	evaporators
40k	20mm machine gun and crew
41k	shipfitter working on the boat deck
37k	#3 3" gun
48k	Officer of the deck on the flying bridge
42k	#1 engine control station
45k	VJ Day in San Diego (flags in background spell out PEACE)
54k	ship forward of mast from flying bridge to bow
66k	ship aft of mast
53k	straight down the mast looking forward
44k	motor whaleboat along side to starboard
56k	motor whaleboat in davits being readied for lowering
58k	motor whaleboat underway
45k	the "Oil King" at work

Martin H. Ray History
View the USS Martin H. Ray (DE 338) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View the official War History of USS Martin H. Ray as submitted by the ship at war's end.

Martin H. Ray's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 28 Feb. 1944 - .. Dec. 1945	Lt./Lcdr. Harry Vincent Tucker Jr., USNR (Comm. CO) (Miami, Fla.)
2.) .. Dec. 1945 – 22 Jan. 1946	Lt. Frank Kenneth Dalrymple, USNR
3.) 22 Jan. 1946 - .. Mar. 1947	Lcdr. Richard Newman Billings, USNR
4.) .. Mar. 1947 – 14 May 1947	Lt. Stephen Luzaich, USN (Decomm. CO)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Last Known Reunion:
September 2005 at Branson, Mo.

Contact Name: Arnold L. Waxman, Lcdr, USNR (Ret.)
Address: 11409 W. 112th Terrace
City/State: Overland Park KS 66210
Phone: (913) 661-2966
E-mail: Arnold Waxman

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

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