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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive

Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Roberts (DE 749)

Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - Z - W - X
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "Shetland Pony"

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Navy Expeditionary Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star
Second Row: WWII Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star

Specifications:
Class: Cannon
Type: DET (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, long hull, 3" guns)
Displacement: 1240 tons (light), 1620 tons (full)
Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa)
Beam: 36' 10" (extreme)
Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws
Speed: 21 kts
Range: 10,800 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 / 201

Roberts (DE 749) Building and Operational Data:

07 July 1943: Keel laid by the Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif.

14 November 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Ruth Marohn

02 September 1944: Commissioned, Lcdr. Robert M. Catharine Jr., USNR, in command

03 March 1947: Decommissioned, placed "in service, in reserve", assigned to NRT, 5th Naval District at Norfok, Va.

13 August 1950: Recommissioned (in reserve)

01 December 1950: Recommissioned (active)

02 October 1961: Discontinued NRT duties, assigned to Escort Squadron 12 at Norfolk, Va.

01 August 1962: Resumed NRT duties as a unit of Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34 (ResDesDiv 342) at Baltimore, Md.

01 October 1964: Decommissioned (placed "in service, in reserve") at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Va.

13 October 1964: Resumed NRT assignment at the U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center, Ft. McHenry, Baltimore, Md.

21 September 1968: Placed "out of commission, out of service" at the U.S. Naval Ship Deactivation Facility, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va.

23 September 1968: Struck from the NVR with 24 years of total service

.. November 1971: Sunk as target

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0674804	94k	USS *Tills* (DE 748) and *Roberts* (DE 749) going through the Panama Canal during WWII, taken from USS *Hemminger* (DE 746).	Robert Taylor
0674902	230k	undated wartime image image	David Buell
0674926	431k	28 September 1944: at sea - USS *Roberts* (DE 749) underway entering port with her crew at quarters. She is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 14D (a modification of that design as prepared for the DD-445 class). From 25 to 28 September, *Roberts* was involved in an ASW training cruise in the "shakedown area" off San Diego, Cal. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 107524* from the* Naval History and Heritage Command)	Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Manager, Navsource DE / FF / LCS Archive
0674903	312k	early August 1945: Apra Harbor, Guam - An LCM-3 hauls *Roberts* into *ABSD-6* alongside USS *Torrance* (AKA 76) for drydocking. Also in *ABSD-6* at the time were *Tills* (DE 748) and SS *A. McKensie*.	Sandy Sanphilipo BMC, USNR (ret.)
0674904	287k
0674905	266k	August 1945: Apra Harbor, Guam - While drydocked in *ABSD-6*, the ships learned of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On 15 August 1945 the end of the war was announced.
0674906	291k
0674907	58k	undated post-war image	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0674908	86k	undated post-war image (Photo #NA80-G-1028016 from the National Archives)	Nick Tiberio Shelton, Conn.
0674909	97k	undated, post-war	Ralph Freese (Late president of DESA)
0674910	34k	undated post-war images	Robert L. Andersen YNC, USNR (ret.)
0674911	32k
0674912	214k
0674913	34k	circa 1960	Sandy Sanphilipo BMC, USNR (ret.)
0674914	31k	circa 1960
0674915	96k	circa 1960: This shot was titled "seasick again". The gentleman in the ballcap is the CO, Cap't. Zimmerman.
0674916	153k	circa 1960: BM1 Younce and BM2 Sanphilipo heading over for liberty in Haiti.
0674917	43k	undated post-war image	Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0674918	83k	Grand Cayman Island, Spring ‘62	Jay Jones EM3, 1962-1964
0674919	73k	depth charge
0674920	103k	gun mounts 31 & 32 looking aft
0674921	100k	gun mount 33 looking aft
0674922	109k	depth charge crew at the ready
0674923	94k	main deck aft looking forward
0674924	327k	undated: *Roberts* underway.	Nick Tiberio Shelton, Conn.
0674925	388k	undated: *Roberts* in an unknown port moored alongside USS *Waller* (DDE 466). An unidentified fleet tug is moored on the opposite side of the pier.	Nick Tiberio Shelton, Conn.

**USS Roberts Crew Photo Page**

Roberts Memorabilia
Ship's Portrait Courtesy of Sandy Sanphilipo	Page From Ship's Newsletter Courtesy of Sandy Sanphilipo	Ship's Award Plaque Courtesy of Jay Jones	Ship's Lighter Courtesy of Jay Jones

Roberts History
View the USS Roberts (DE 749) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.

Roberts' Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

Dates of Command	Commanding Officers
1.) 02 Sep. 1944 – 1946	Lcdr. Robert M. Catharine Jr., USNR (Comm. CO)
2.) 1946 – 03 Mar. 1947	Lcdr. Stewart Lindsay Jr., USNR
5.) 01 Dec. 1950 –	Lcdr. Robert Winslow Sherman, USN
8.) – 27 Mar. 1957	Lcdr. Frederick Julius Heiler, USN (Detroit, Mich.)
9.) 27 Mar. 1957 – 17 Apr. 1957	Lt. James Calvin Peeler, USN
10.) 17 Apr. 1957 – 09 Sep. 1959	Lcdr. Richard Herbert Spindler, USN
11.) 09 Sep. 1959 – 08 Sep. 1961	Lcdr. Daniel Thomas Wieland Jr., USN (USNA ‘46) (Sunbury, Pa.)
12.) 08 Sep. 1961 – 28 Oct. 1961	Lcdr. Roger Emerson Melick, USN (Marshalltown, Iowa)
13.) 28 Oct. 1961 – 31 Jul. 1962	Cmdr. Jacob S. Zimmerman, USNR
14.) 31 Jul. 1962 – 01 Oct. 1964	Lt. / Lcdr. Harry Thomas Ketzner, USN (USNA ‘53) (New Albany, Ind.)
15.) 01 Oct. 1964 – 05 Feb. 1965	Lt. Dean Marvin Finley, USN (OinC)
16.) 05 Feb. 1965 – 19 Dec. 1967	Lt. Griffith Joel Winthrop, USN (OinC)
17.) 19 Dec. 1967 – 21 Sep. 1968	Lt. Hugh Miller Rawls, USN (OinC) (USNA ‘62) (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: M. Edward Arnold
Address: 3235 Ames Avenue
City/State: Kingman AZ 86401
Phone: (928) 692-9190
E-mail: DD547@citlink.net

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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This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski
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