BASSETT APD 73

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.

Crosley Class High-Speed Transport
Keel Laid November 28 1943 as DE-672
Launched January 15 1944
Redesignated High Speed Transport (APD) June 27 1944


1. USS BASSETT APD-73
   Commissioned February 23 1945 - Decommissioned April 29 1946
   Recommissioned December 7 1950 - Decommissioned November 26 1957
   
   Struck from Naval Register May 1 1967
   
   
2. ARC ALMIRANTE TONO DT-04 (Colombian Naval Service)
   Transferred to Colombia September 6 1968
   Struck from the Columbian Naval Register and broken up for scrap 1977

 

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. Covers Page 1    (1953-54)

 

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	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

USPO Duplex Neville Island, PA

1944-01-15

ANCS Pittsburgh Crew

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2nd Commissioning December 7 1950 to November 26 1957

 

Locy Type 2

1951-01-20

Note:

 

Locy Type 2

1952-03-18

Cachet by Louis S. Pentel

 

Locy Type 9efu

1954-08-27

Note:

 

Other Information

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal

NAMESAKE - Edgar Rees Bassett USNR (10 March 1914 - May 7 1942)
Bassett enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a Seaman 2d class on February 13 1940 at New York City. Commissioned Ensign after winning his "wings" on May 20 1941, he joined Fighting Squadron VF-42 on June 9 as it was preparing for its first Neutrality Patrol cruise on board USS YORKTOWN CV-5. Bassett one of the more colorful "characters" among the fighter pilots of VF-42 remained associated with YORKTOWN for the rest of his life. He was awarded air medals for his aggressive performance of duty in the first few months of the war, especially for his strafing gun emplacements and enemy barges during the raid on Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea, on March 10 1942. He was also awarded The Navy Cross for "extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty" during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. He shot down a Mitsubishi F1M2 floatplane ("Pete") over Tulagi during the YORKTOWN air group attack on shipping there on May 4 and strafed the Japanese destroyer YUZUKI as it fled Tulagi harbor. On the morning of May 7, he flew one of the fighters that protected Torpedo Squadron VT-5 in its attack on the Japanese carrier SHOHO. That same evening, Bassett helped to disperse a group of Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes in the vicinity of the YORKTOWN task force. The following morning, he flew combat air patrol over Task Force 17 and assisted in the downing of one enemy plane during the attack on his carrier. Assigned to VF-3 along with several other VF-42 pilots on the eve of the Battle of Midway, Bassett flew one of the six fighters covering VT-3 in the attack on the Japanese Mobile Force. When the enemy combat air patrol swarmed over the torpedo planes and their escort, Bassett was shot down in flames at the outset and killed

 

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