WILKES DD 441

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 1 November 1939 - Launched 31 May 1940 USS WILKES DD-441 Commissioned 22 April 1941 - Decommissioned 6 March 1946 Struck from Naval Register 1 March 1971 Sold 29 June 1972 and broken up for scrap

Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, 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 Wilkes DD-441 Covers Page 1    (1941-1946)

 

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 FDPS 3 (A-TTT) "FIRST DAY / POSTAL SERVICE"

1941-05-15

First Day of Postal Service, Cachet Artist A. F. Miller. Cachet Sponsored by Boston Navy Yard, Navy Relief Society

 

Locy Type 3 (A-TTT)

1941-05-30

Memorial Day, cachet by Henry S. Wright, sponsored by J.B. Peterson and David Bushnell Chapter No. 48, USCS

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1941-10-11

Cachet by M. Fay Muridge

 

Locy Type 9v

1941-09-22

Note:

 

Locy Type P USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-26

1945-10-27

Navy Day. Picture postcard of the IJN Battleship NAGATO.

 

Locy Type P USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-26a

1945-10-27

Navy Day.

 

Locy Type P USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-26a

1946-01-05

"U.S.S." missing from upper bar

 

Locy Type P USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-26b

1941-09-25

From the David Kent collection.

 

Locy Type P (9v,name removed)

1945-06-10

Proper use on a Registered Receipt.

 

Locy Type LDC P USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-26a

1946-03-04

Last Day in Commission

 

Other Information

USS WILKES received 10 battle stars for her World War II service

NAMESAKE - Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877)
Wilkes was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War (1861–1865), where he attacked a Royal Mail Ship, almost leading to war between the US and the UK. His behavior led to two convictions by court-martial, one stemming from the massacre of almost 80 Fijians on Malolo in 1840.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Bessie Wilkes Styer.

Four ships of the US Navy have borne the name WILKES in his honor - USS Wilkes TB-35, USS Wilkes DD-67, USS Wilkes DD-441 and USNS Wilkes T-AGS-33.

 

---

 

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