PILLSBURY DER 133

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.

Edsall Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid 18 July 1942 - Launched and Christened 10 January 1943 USS PILLSBURY DE-133 Commissioned 7 June 1943 - Decommissioned 31 March 1946 USS PILLSBURY DER-133 Reclassified Radar Pickett Escort Ship (DER) August 1954 while in reserve Recommissioned 15 March 1955 - Decommissioned 20 June 1960 Stricken 1 July 1965 - Sold 1966 for scrap

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 Pillsbury DE-133 Page 1    (1946)
2. USS Pillsbury DER-133 Page 1    (1959)

 

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.
 
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Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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1st Commissioning 7 June 1943 to 31 March 1946

USS Pillsbury DE-133

 

Locy Type 2(n)(DE) Oct 27, 1945

1945-10-27

Cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type 2(n)(DE)

1946-05-02

Note:

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2nd Commissioning 15 March 1955 to 20 June 1960

USS Pillsbury DER-133

 

Locy Type 9ef(n+u)

1959-11-18

"THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NAVY IS INCREASING" R/S marking on the stamp was created by the mail clerk and is not a official Naval postmark.

 

Other Information

USS PILLSBURY earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal, the European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 5 Battle stars and the World War II Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Rear Admiral John Elliott Pillsbury, USN (15 December 1846 - 30 December 1919).
        Pillsbury, born in Lowell, MA was appointed Midshipman in 1862 and commissioned an Ensign in 1868. After serving on various stations afloat and ashore, he commanded the coast steamer USS Blake from 1884 to 1891 and did excellent scientific work, using in some of his research instruments of his own invention. In the Spanish-American War he commanded the dynamite cruiser USS Vesuvius, operating around the island of Cuba and in the vicinity of Morro Castle. In 1905 he served as Chief of Staff of the North Atlantic Fleet and in 1908-09, was Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. Although Rear Admiral Pillsbury’s attainments as a sailor and a fighting man were noteworthy, he is perhaps best known as having been one of the world’s foremost geographers and as an authority of the Gulf stream. Actively identified with the National Geographic Society for many years, he was president of the society at the time of his death in 1919.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Elsie G. Richardson, daughter of RAdm. Pillsbury.

Two ships of the US Navy have been named in his honor - USS Pillsbury DD-227 and USS Pillsbury DER-133.

 

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