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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587)

Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign:
N - H - N - X

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal - Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star
Second Row: World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Philippine Liberation Ribbon

Specifications:
Class: Rudderow
Type: TEV (turbo-electric drive, long hull, 5" guns)
Displacement: 1,450 tons (light), 1,810 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 13' 9" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 CE boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 5,050 nm @ 12 knots
Armament: 2 - 5"/38 Mk30, 4 - 40mm Mk1 AA (2x2), 10 x 20mm/70 Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (230 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors (40), 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks (60)
Complement: 12 / 192

Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) Building and Operational Data:

15 December 1943: Keel laid by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards, Hingham, Mass.

22 January 1944: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Fred W. Nickel, Private Nickels' mother

09 June 1944: Commissioned at Hingham, Mass. by Cmdr. M. G. Vangeli, USN, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, representing Com1stND; Lcdr. Claude S. Farmer, USNR, in command

31 May 1946: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal.

31 October 1946 1946: Assigned to NRT, 12th Naval District; arrived at San Francisco, towed to Sacramento, Cal. for use as a Naval Armory

08 July 1948: Reactivated, placed "in service"; assigned to NRT, 12th Naval District at Naval Station, Treasure Island, San Francisco, Cal.

22 September 1950: Recommissioned, continued assignment at San Francisco, Cal.

26 February 1958: Decommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, Cal. after 13 years and 8⅓ months of service; custody transferred to the CO, San Francisco Group, U.S. Pacific Reserve Fleet

01 December 1972: Struck from the NVR

09 June 1973: Sold for scrapping to the Levin Metals Co., San Jose, Cal.

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0658707	219k	22 January 1944: Hingham, Mass. - The future USS *Thomas F. Nickel* (DE 587) slides down the building way ramp into the water.	-
0658702	23k	1945: Hollandia, New Guinea - *Thomas F. Nickel* (DE 587), taken while she was at anchor. My father, then Lcdr. Claude S. Farmer, USNR, was her commissioning CO and was in command when she destroyed two Japanese midget submarine in August 1945.	Claude S. Farmer Jr. Commander, USN (ret.)
0658706	293k	1950's: A radioman deep in thought aboard USS *Thomas F. Nickel* (DE 587). This photo was captioned "U.S. Navy sailor, a radioman, reading girly magazines." But this poor guy's getting a bad rap. If you look closely you'll see he's actually reading "The Radio Amateur's Licensing Manual". (Vintage photo from Robert T. Hendricks, a U.S. Navy Sailor who served in the attack transport USS *Marathon* [APA 200] in 1945)	Tommy Trampp Benton City, Wash.
0658704	449k	27 July 1955: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - USS *Thomas F. Nickel* (DE 587) lies off while preparing to moor at Vancouver. (Photo #AM1506-S3-3-: CVA 447-8445 by Walter E. Frost from the City of Vancouver Archives)	Mike Green Port Angeles, Wash.
0658708	116k	mid-1950's: San Francisco, Cal. - USS *Thomas F. Nickel* (DE 587) moored at the Treasure Island Naval Station. [Photo by George R. Larson; USN (ret.) from the Old Blue Jacket web site of Warren Willis, CWO4, USN (ret.)]	Chin Yu Chu Brunei Darussalam South East Asia
0658705	238k	Undated post-war view of *Thomas F. Nickel* underway.	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Navsource DE/FF/LCS Archive Manager
0658703	72k	1957: San Francisco, Cal. - *Thomas F. Nickel*, taken from Treasure Island.	Russell Cole

Thomas F. Nickel History
View the USS Thomas F. Nickel (DE 587) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View the official War History of USS Thomas F. Nickel as submitted by the ship at war's end.

Thomas F. Nickel's Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 09 Jun. 1944 – .. Mar. 1946	Lcdr. Claude Smith Farmer, USNR (Comm. CO)
2.) .. Mar. 1946 – 31 May 1946	Lt.(jg) John J. Deasy, USNR (Decomm. CO) (San Francisco, Cal.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

None

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

Dennis Fisher's "YouTube" Tribute to USS Thomas F. Nickel
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 Thomas F. Nickel

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