WISCONSIN BB 64

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.

Iowa Class Battleship Keel Laid January 25 1941 - Launched December 7 1943 USS WISCONSIN BB-64 Commissioned April 16 1944 - Decommissioned July 1 1948 Recommissioned March 3 1951 - Decommissioned March 8 1958 Recommissioned October 22 1988 - Decommissioned September 30 1991 Struck from Naval Register January 12 1995 Reinstated on Naval Register in reserve February 12 1998 Berthed at Norfolk, VA to become a museum-in-reserve Weather decks open to public, ship maintained in reserve Owned by U.S. Navy

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    (1944-2006)

 

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 Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

---

1st Commissioning April 16 1944 to July 1 1948

 

Locy Type 2(n) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38

1946-02-03

Note:

 

Locy Type 2(n) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38a

1948-01-20

Note:

 

Locy Type 2(n) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38b

1947-07-21

First Postwar Cruise cachet.

 

Locy Type 2z 1944

1944-09-09

Note: Wider spacing in "U.S." from 1945 Type 2z

 

Locy Type 2z 1945

1945-05-02

Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type 2az "TOKYO BAY"

1945-09-16

Note:

 

Locy Type P USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38e

1947-11-11

Note:

 

Locy Type P "MIDSHIPMAN / CRUISE / 1947" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38e

1947-06-20

Note:

 

Locy Type LDPS 2(n) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38c

1948-06-15

Last Day of Postal Service, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

---

2nd Commissioning March 3 1951 to March 8 1958

 

Locy Type FDPS 2

1951-03-03

First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2

1955-11-18

Note:

 

Locy Type 9efu

1951-06-23 to 1951-06-24

Note:

---

 

Mailer's Postmark Permit Philadelphia, PA

1986-08-01

No Image

"OPERATION TOWEX '86". Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

3rd Commissioning October 22 1988 to September 30 1991

 

Locy Type FDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38f

1988-10-22

First Day in Commission

 

Locy Type FDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38g

1988-10-22

First Day of Recommission, cacheted

 

Locy Type FDC 9-1

1988-10-22

First Day in Commission

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) (USS) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38h

1988-12-16

Note:

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) (USS) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38j

1991-07-09

USMC and FMF, cachet by Richard H. Hall

 

Locy Type 9-1(n+u) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38l

1991-03-28

Note:

 

Locy Type LDC F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-38m

1991-09-30

Last Day in Commission

 

Locy Type LDC 2-1(n+)

1991-09-30

Last Day in Commission

---

Commemorative Covers

 

Locy Type 2 USS Iowa BB-61 USS Missouri BB-63 USS New Jersey BB-62 USS Wisconsin BB-64

1990-07-04

Unique 4 Battleship cover created by Tom Armstrong

 

Mailer's Postmark Permit Philadelphia, PA

1991-10-05

No Image

Transfer to the 16th Fleet, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Mailer's Postmark Permit Philadelphia, PA

1995-01-12

No Image

Stricken from the Naval Register. Cachet Artist - Michael W. McCue, Cachet Sponsor - Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Mailer's Postmark Permit Philadelphia, PA

1996-10-15

No Image

Transfer to Norfolk Virginia, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "USS Wisconsin BB-64 Station" Norfolk VA 23513-9998

2001-04-16

Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Commissioning Station" Norfolk, VA

2004-04-16

Cachet by Roger A. Wentworth

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Commissioning Station" Philadelphia, PA

2004-04-16

Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Commissioning Station" Norfolk, VA

2004-04-16

Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Commissioning Station" Madison, WI

2004-04-16

Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Commissioning Station" Norfolk VA

2004-04-16

No Image

Note:

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Station" Norfolk VA 23513

2005-10-27

Navy Day, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Cover illustrates replica postmarks from the USS Wisconsin and USS Midway CV-41

 

USPS Pictorial "60th Anniversary Station" Norfolk VA

2005-10-27

Navy Day, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Cover illustrates replica postmarks from the USS Wisconsin

 

Other Information

WISCONSIN earned 5 battle stars for WWII, and 1 battle star for Korea service

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon - Navy Commendation Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Operation Desert Shield\Desert Storm - Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon - Desert Shield\Desert Storm - Philippine Presidential Unit Citation - Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal with two Bronze Stars - United Nations Service Medal - Saudi Arabian Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait - Kuwait Liberation Medal - Kuwait Desert Shield - Republic of Korean War Service Medal

NAMESAKE - Named for The State of Wisconsin

 

---

 

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