BELL DD 587

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.

Fletcher Class Destroyer Keel Laid 30 December 1941 - Launched 24 June 1942 USS BELL DD-587 Commissioned 4 March 1943 - Decommissioned 14 June 1946 Struck from Naval Register 1 November 1972 Sunk 11 May 1975 as target

Rear Admiral Henry Haywood Bell, 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).

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1. USS Bell DD-587 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 3z (TBT)

1945-07-01

Censored, WWII use

 

Locy Type 9efu

1944-06-27

Mark from back of cover

 

Locy Type P "U.S.S. BELL / D D 587" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-24

1946-01-31

Note:

 

Other Information

USS BELL earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 12 Battle Stars and the WWII Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Rear Admiral Henry Haywood Bell, USN (1808 - 11 January 1868).
Bell was born in North Carolina in 1808 and appointed a Midshipman 4 August 1823. During the Civil War he served as Fleet-Captain of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron under Admiral Farragut. Promoted to Rear Admiral 25 July 1866, he was drowned when his barge capsized in Osaka Harbor, Japan, 11 January 1868.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Clea Cooke Hulse, great-grandniece of Admiral Bell.

Two ships of the US Navy have been named in his honor - USS Bell DD-95 and USS Bell DD-587.

 

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