BLESSMAN APD 48
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid March 22 1943 - Launched June 19 1943 |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Covers Page 1 (1946)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
|
Postmark Type |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1946-01-09 |
 |
 |
As APD-48
|
Locy Type |
1946-01-29 |
 |
 |
As APD-48
Cachet by Louis S. Pentel. Records indicate Post Office Discontinued on January 19 1946
Other Information
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/2 battle stars) - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (w/ 1 battle star) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal w/1 star
NAMESAKE - Edward Martin Blessman USN (December 29 1907 - February 4 1942)
Blessman was appointed Midshipman from the 9th District of Wisconsin on June 21 1927 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy on June 4 1931. Service at sea in USS MARYLAND BB-46 and USS HALE DD-133 preceded flight training at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., after which he served in VS-2B in USS LEXINGTON CV-2 and VP-17F, based on USS THRUSH AVP-3. Following a two-year tour at the NAS Anacostia, Blessman, promoted to Lieutenant in January 1939--joined USS MARBLEHEAD CL-12, then with the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, on December 10 1939. He was still serving in her when Japan launched its onslaught in the Far East in December 1941.
On February 4 1942, MARBLEHEAD stood out of Surabaya, Java, as part of a mixed American-Dutch cruiser-destroyer force under Rear Admiral Karel W. F. M. Doorman, RNN. Japanese flying boats from the Toko Kŝkūtai, however, spotted the force as it attempted to transit the Madoera Strait to attack the Japanese Borneo invasion fleet. Thus forewarned, Japanese naval land attack planes bombed the allied force. At 1027, a stick of seven bombs from a Kanoya Kŝkūtai plane straddled MARBLEHEAD. The first of the two bombs to hit the ship penetrated the main deck and exploded near “wardroom country,” the blast ripping through the light sheet metal bulkheads that comprised the boundaries of the compartment. Blessman, who, as the ship’s Senior Aviator had no air defense station and was in the wardroom at the time, was killed instantly by the concussion.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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