PALMER DMS 5

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.

Wickes Class Destroyer Keel Laid 29 May 1918 - Launched 18 August 1918 USS PALMER Destroyer No. 161 Commissioned 22 November 1918 USS PALMER DD-161 Designated (DD) 17 July 1920 Decommissioned 31 May 1922 - Recommissioned 7 August 1940 USS PALMER DMS-5 Reclassified Dorsey Class High-speed Minesweeper (DMS) 19 November 1940 SUNK by Enemy aircraft 7 January 1945 at Lingayen Gulf, Philippines 28 of her crew were lost and remain on duty Struck from Naval Register February 8 1945

Rear Admiral James S. Palmer

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 Palmer Covers DD-161 / DMS-5 Page 1     (1940-1942)

 

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

---

2nd Commissioning 7 August 1940 to 7 January 1945

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-BBT)

1940-11-15

DD-161. First Day of Postal Service, Cachet by B. Saunders Bullard

 

Locy Type FDPS 9v

1940-11-15

DD-161. First Day of Postal Service

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT)

1940-12-26

DMS-5

 

Locy Type 3z (BTB)

1942-01-05

DMS-5

 

Locy Type F "MEMORIAL / DAY" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-3

1941-05-30

DMS-5. Memorial Day. This cover was sponsored by the Admiral Moffett Chapter No. 6, USCS (Chicago IL) and serviced by Tazewell G. Nicholson in Norfolk VA. The Moffett Chapter may have created the postmark also but that is not confirmed. This postmark has only been seen on Moffett/Nicholson covers though.

 

Locy Type F "MEMORIAL / DAY" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-3

1941-05-30

Backside of the May 30 1941 cover (P-3 postmark) showing the ship's Type 3 (A-BBT) postmark

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-3a Locy Type 3 (A-BBT) On The Back - Locy Type F "MEMORIAL / DAY" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-3

1941-05-30

DMS-5. Memorial Day. Courtesy of Jon Howard. "This cover disputes the solo cachetmaker use of these Type F postmarks"

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-3a

1941-05-30

DMS-5. Memorial Day. This cover was sponsored by the Admiral Moffett Chapter No. 6, USCS (Chicago IL) and serviced by Tazewell G. Nicholson in Norfolk VA. The Moffett Chapter may have created the postmark also but that is not confirmed. This postmark has only been seen on Moffett/Nicholson covers though.

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-3a

1941-05-30

Backside of the May 30 1941 cover (P-3a postmark) showing the ship's Type 3 (A-BBT) postmark

 

Other Information

USS PALMER earned 5 battle stars for her World War II service.

NAMESAKE - James Shedden Palmer (1810 - 7 December 1867)
Palmer was appointed Midshipman January 1 1825. He commanded FLIRT during the Mexican War, and IROQUIOS and HARTFORD during the Civil War. He commanded the Naval Station at New Orleans and the West Gulf Squadron during 1864. Appointed to command the West Indian Squadron in 1865, he was commissioned Rear Admiral July 25 1866 and died December 7 1867 at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Grace Powell Hilliard, wife of Naval Constructor Robert B. Hilliard, USN.

 

---

 

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