NORTHAMPTON CA 26

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.

Northampton Class Light Cruiser
Keel Laid 12 April 1928 - Launched 5 September 1929


1. USS NORTHAMPTON CL-26
Commissioned 7 May 1930


2. USS NORTHAMPTON CA-26
Reclassified Heavy Cruiser (CA) 1 July 1931
SUNK by Torpedoes 1 December 1942 from the Japanese Destroyer OYASHIO, Battle of Tassafaronga, off Guadalcanal

 

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 Northampton CA-26 Covers Page 1    (1930 - Sept 1934)
2. USS Northampton CA-26 Covers Page 2    (Oct 1934 - 1942)
3. USS Northampton CA-26 Fancy Postmarks Page 1    (1933-1936)

 

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.
Postmarks have been enhanced for clarity

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDC 3s (A) "BOSTON / MASS"

1930-05-17

Commissioning

 

Locy Type 3 (B-BTT) "NAVY / DAY" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18 (1933-1934)

1933-10-27

CA-26. Navy Day

 

Locy Type 3 (B-BTT) "JULIAN FEB / CALENDAR 12" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18a (1934-1935)

1935-02-22

CA-26. George Washington's Birthday. Red ink

 

Locy Type 3 (BC-TTT) "HE HAS / RISEN" (1935)

1935-04-21

CA-26. Easter, cachet by Marshall R. Hall

 

Locy Type 3 (AC-TBB) "BREMERTON / WASH" (1937-1939)

1937-11-08

CA-26. Add-on cachet by Bruce D. Liddell

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT) "SEATTLE / WASHINGTON" (1939-1941)

1941-01-11

CA-26

 

Locy Type 3b (B-XTX) (1936)

1936-02-22

CA-26. Washington's Birthday

 

Locy Type 3s (A) "LONG BEACH / CALIF" (1930-1937)

1935-10-12

CA-26. Columbus Day, cachet by C. Wright Richell

 

Locy Type 3z (BTT) (1942)

1942-05-27

CA-26. Censored WWII use

 

Locy Type 9 (1936)

1936-02-14

CA-26. Valentine's Day

 

Locy Type 9 (1936)

1936-02-22

CA-26. Washington's Birthday. Type 9 with "FLAG DIV 4" instead of a date

 

Locy Type 9v (1930-1935)

1935-12-25

CA-26

 

Locy Type 9v (1937-1941)

1937-07-25

CA-26

 

Locy Type 9w (1935)

1935-12-25

CA-26

 

Locy Type 9efw (1937)

1937-07-25

CA-26

 

Locy Type 9x (1937-1940)

1937-07-25

CA-26

 

Locy Type F "EASTER / SUNDAY" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18b (1934)

1934-04-01

CA-26. Easter, Crosby r/s marking on backside along with a machine postmark from San Pedro CA

 

Locy Type F "BOOST THE NAVY / COLLECT NAVY COVERS" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18c (1933-1934)

1933-01-26

CA-26

 

Locy Type F "FIRST DAY / DRAGON CANCEL" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18d (1934)

1934-09-30

N/A

CA-26. Postmark illustration courtesy of the USCS Postmark Catalog, 5th Edition. I need a cover scan with this postmark!

 

Locy Type F "STRONG NAVY / STRONG NATION" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18e (1934)

1934-10-27

CA-26. Navy Day, cachet by Marshall R. Hall

 

Locy Type F "FLEET WEEK / SEATTLEWASH" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18f (1934-1935)

1935-08-02

CA-26. Fleet Week, cachet by Leo A. Miller

 

Locy Type Fa USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18g (Killer Bars Removed)

1936-02-14

CA-26. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type Fb "AHOY 1936 / BEST WISHES" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. N-18g (1936)

1936-01-01

CA-26. Listed only as Type Fa in USCS Postmark Catalog...Only the upper bar is missing in this example

 

Locy Type SLPbs (Unlisted) (1937)

1937-05-17

CA-26

 

Other Information

USS NORTHAMPTON earned the Navy Combat Action Ribbon, the American Defense Service Medal w/ Fleet Clasp, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 6 Battle Stars and the World War II Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Named for the city of Northampton, Massachusetts.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Grace Coolidge, wife of former President Calvin Coolidge.

 

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