BRISTOL DD 453

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.

Gleaves Class Destroyer Keel Laid 2 September 1940 - Launched 25 July 1941 USS BRISTOL DD-453 Commissioned 22 October 1941 SUNK 13 October 1943 by German U-371 off Algiers 52 of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on duty

Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, USN

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. USS Bristol DD-453 Covers Page 1    (1941-1942)
2. USS Bristol DD-453 Covers Page 2 (Chief Electrician's Mate Archie Lance collection)    (1941-1942)
3. USS Bristol DD-453 Covers Page 3 (Chief Electrician's Mate Archie Lance collection)    (1941-1942)

 

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	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-57

1941-10-22

Collector supplied postmark from Michael Sanders, ANCS Brooklyn Crew. This is the FDPS and FDC for the ship. George V. Sadworth's tribute to Richard Buchwald

 

Locy Type FDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-57

1941-10-22

A second type of FDC postmark, "FIRST DAY COMMISION" added with a second device. Not mentioned in USCS Postmark Catalog.
Cachet by George V. Sadworth

 

Locy Type FDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-57

1941-10-22

"The commissioning cancel B-57 has been seen in mirror image form." USCS Postmark Catalog.
Cachet by George V. Sadworth

 

Locy Type FDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-57

1941-10-21

Another type of FDC postmark, different setup in the ships name/date box (and a day early). Not mentioned in USCS Postmark Catalog.
Cachet by National Cachet Society (Walt Czubay).

---

Post office established November 1 1941 - Disestablished October 16 1943

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-OTO)

1941-11-01

First Day of Postal Service, cachet by Dr. S. E. Hutnick

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-OTO) "FIRST / DAY"

1941-11-01

First Day of Postal Service, Unlisted in USCS Postmark Catalog. Cachet by Gow C. Ng

 

Locy Type FDPS 9v

1941-11-01

First Day Postal Service. Unlisted in USCS Postmark Catalog

 

Locy Type FDPS 9x

1941-11-01

First Day Postal Service. Unlisted in USCS Postmark Catalog

 

Locy Type 3 (A-OTO) "GREGORY / SUNK"

1942-09-05

Cachet by George V. Sadworth. Postmark commemorates the sinking of USS Gregory APD-3

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1942-03-02

Pencil notation indicates date

 

Locy Type Fz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-57a

1941

Fragment of BRISTOL's T-3 postmark appears on this cover.

 

Locy Type Pz (OXO)

1942-11-11

Blue postmark dated 11-November-1942, Locy Type Pz(OXO) killer text "ATLANTA / DODGES / Bombers". Unfranked. Unaddressed. Violet rubber-stamps "ATLANTA DODGES Bombers" and "ATLANTA DODGES Dive Bmr's". Reverse blank. Light age toning as shown in image. Good condition, flap open, no tears or damage. Provisional postmark not listed in USCS Catalog, estimated rarity R-3. Created from Bristol postmark T-3(A-OTO), middle letter of "U.S.S." removed at top of dial, ship name removed from bottom of dial, "NAVY" added to dial, middle killer bar removed. Very likely the killer text was a separate rubber-stamp.
USS Atlanta CL-51. Courtesy of Bruce D. Liddell

 

Other Information

USS BRISTOL earned the Europe-Africa-Middle-East Campaign Medal w/ 3 Battle Stars during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Rear Admiral Mark Lambert Bristol, USN (April 17 1868 - May 13 1939)
Bristol graduated from the Naval Academy in 1887. During the Spanish-American War he served aboard USS TEXAS and participated in the battle of Santiago, Cuba. From 1901 to 1903 he served as aide to the Commander-in-Chief, North Atlantic Fleet. He commanded USS OKLAHOMA BB-37 during World War I and then served as United States High Commissioner in Turkey (1919-27). In 1927 Rear Admiral Bristol assumed command of the Asiatic Fleet. He died May 13 1939.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Adaline Clayton, wife of Powell Clayton (born Powell Foulk Clayton; August 7, 1833 – August 25, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1871 to 1877 and United States Ambassador to Mexico from 1899 to 1905. He previously served as the 9th Governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1871.

Two ships of the US Navy have borne the name BRISTOL - USS Bristol DD-453 and USS Bristol DD-857

 

---

 

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.

 

---

Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum