CHARLES P CECIL DD 835

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.

Gearing Class Destroyer Keel Laid December 2 1944 - Launched April 22 1945 USS CHARLES P. CECIL DD-835 Commissioned June 29 1945 USS CHARLES P. CECIL DDR-835 Reclassified Radar Picket Destroyer (DDR) March 18 1949 USS CHARLES P. CECIL DD-835 Reverted to Destroyer (DD) July 30 1963 Decommissioned October 1 1979 Struck from Naval Register October 1 1979 HNS APOSTOLIS D-216 (Greek Naval Service) Sold to Greece August 2 1980 and renamed Decommissioned 1993 Stricken by Greece 1993 Laid up at Suda Bay until March 4 2003 then sold for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). 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.

1. Charles P. Cecil Covers Page 1    (1945-71)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). 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 --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1947-05-30

As DD-835

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1951-10-16

As DDR-835
Cachet intended for Columbus Day, cachet by Donald R. Graf.

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1951-11-03

As DDR-835

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (DDR)

1961-03-25

As DDR-835

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (DD,USS)

1965-03-21

As DD-835

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u) (DDR)

1951-11-03

As DDR-835

 

Locy Type 9eft(n+u) (USS)

1970-01-20

As DD-835

 

Locy Type 9fu

1965-03-21

As DD-835

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Rear Admiral Charles P. Cecil USN (September 4 1893 - July 31 1944)
Cecil was appointed to the Naval Academy from the Fifth Kentucky District in 1912, and was graduated and commissioned Ensign in June 1916. After graduation he served aboard USS MAINE BB-10, USS BALLARD DD-267, USS ROCHESTER CA-2, USS UPSHUR DD-144, USS PITTSBURGH CA-4, and USS TEXAS BB-35 through 1927. The next ten years saw Admiral Cecil serving on Battleship Staffs and ashore at the Bureau of Navigation as well as the Naval Academy. During the late thirty's he commanded the destroyers USS GREENE DD-266 and USS CUMMINGS DD-365 followed by an assignment as Executive Officer, Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. In 1941, at the beginning of World War II he assumed command of Pacific Destroyer Division Eleven followed by command of Destroyer Squadron Five. He was awarded The Navy Cross for Action with Destroyer Squadron Five against superior Japanese Forces at the battle of Santa Cruz Islands on October 26 1942. In November of 1942, Admiral Cecil assumed command of the USS HELENA CL-50. On July 6 1943 he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in action against Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands. Following several days of shore bombardment against numerous counter-battery fire, and the laying of a mine field in restricted waters in reduced visibility, the HELENA participated in a running engagement with numerically superior Japanese Naval Forces. She sank or damaged all hostile fire vessels before-she was mortally hit by enemy torpedo fire. Subsequent to the sinking of the HELENA Admiral Cecil reported for duty as Commander Service Force, pacific Fleet. He was killed in an airplane crash in the Pacific area on July 31 1944

 

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