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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

USS Bull (DE 693 / APD 78)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - T - V - Q

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Combat Action Ribbon
Second Row: China Service Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 2 stars
Third Row: European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal

Specifications:
Class: Buckley
Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1400 tons (light), 1740 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 24 kts
Range: 6,000 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: 15 / 198

Bull (DE 693) Building and Operational Data:

14 December 1942: Keel laid by the the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.

25 March 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Ruth P. BuIl

July 1943: Transported down the Mississippi River to the Naval Base at Algiers, La.

12 August 1943: Commissioned, Lt. Duane W. Farnham, USNR, in command

28 July 1944: Conversion to APD commenced at Todd Shipyard Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y. (completed 26 October 1944)

31 July 1944: Reclassified APD 78

05 June 1947: Decommissioned at San Diego, Cal. after 3 years and 9¾ months of service

16 June 1966: Struck from the NVR

12 July 1966: To Taiwan, renamed Lu Shan (PF-36) (struck May 1995, scrapped)

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0669301	48k	Richard Bull was born in the borough of Manhattan in New York City on 14 July 1914, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt Bull. He enlisted in the Navy on 16 July 1938 at Miami, Fla., and underwent flight training at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., before winning his wings on 12 October 1939. Appointed ensign on 21 November 1939, he was assigned to Patrol Squadron (PatRon) 22 on that date. On 28 November 1940, Ens. Bull was designated a patrol plane commander. Transferred with his squadron to the East Indies early in World War II, Ens. Bull took part in the gallant efforts of Patrol Wing (PatWing) 10 as its slow, ungainly PBY flying boats hunted for elements of the Japanese fleet. On 21 January 1942, a temporary appointment as lieutenant (junior grade) was sent to Bull, but no record of his execution of the oath of office has been found. While on patrol off the coast of Borneo on 23 January 1942, Bull discovered a transport and two destroyers. Driven off by antiaircraft fire, he persistently remained in the vicinity and, as a result, sighted 26 ships a short time later. During another reconnaissance flight in the vicinity of the island of Ambon in the Netherlands East Indies on 05 February 1942, Bull searched for an enemy carrier group reported to be nearby. He ran afoul of enemy fighters and was never seen again. For his "extraordinary flying achievement, courage and devotion to duty" in carrying out this mission, Bull received the posthumous award of the Distinguished Flying Cross. USS *Bull* (DE 693) (1943-1947) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo from the web site: Find A Grave (Memorial #56774937)	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Archive Manager DE / FF / LCS Archive Navsource
0669304	194k	USS *Bull* (DE 693) photographed circa 1943 (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 85150, Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1977, from the Naval History and Heritage Command) (photo added 08 October 2022)
0669305	278k	17 October 1943: location unknown - A ship's portrait of *Bull* (DE 693).	Darryl Baker PNCM, USNR (ret.) Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum
0669302	19k	undated wartime images, Atlantic, prior to conversion (Both Photos by Richard D. Hoffmann)	Richard D. Hoffmann
0669303	51k		Richard D. Hoffmann

Bull History
View the USS Bull (DE 693 / APD 78) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
View the official War History of USS Bull as submitted by the ship at war's end.

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

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 12 Aug. 1943 - 12 Dec. 1943	Lcdr. Duane Wesley Farnham, USN (Comm. CO) (USNA '30) (Alamosa, Colo.)
2.) 12 Dec. 1943 - 09 Feb. 1944	Lcdr. John Barry McLaughlin, USNR
3.) 09 Feb. 1944 - 21 Mar. 1945	Lt. Egbert Roscoe Ferguson Jr., USNR (Cincinnati, Oh.)
4.) 21 Mar. 1945 - 15 Aug. 1945	Lcdr. Merritt Berner, USNR
5.) 15 Aug. 1945 - .. Feb. 1946	Lt. Francis Bowman Rauch Jr., USNR
6.) .. Feb. 1946 - .. Jan. 1947	Lcdr. Charles Edward Weyll, USNR
7.) .. Jan. 1947 - 05 Jun. 1947	Lt. Edward John Zajac (Decomm. CO) (Cleveland, Oh.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Reunion Contact: William S. McMillan, SoM 1/c
Address: 17 Highland Place
City/State: Canajoharie NY 13317-1303
Phone: (518) 673-3589
E-mail: Stan McMillan

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

Navsource APD Pages, USS Bull (APD 78)
Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
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