BECUNA SS 319

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.

Balao Class Submarine Keel Laid April 29 1943 - Launched January 30 1944 USS BECUNA SS-319 Commissioned May 27 1944 Underwent Guppy II A conversion November 1950 - August 1951 USS BECUNA AGSS-319 Reclassified Auxiliary Submarine (AGSS) 1969 Decommissioned November 7 1969 Laid up in Atlantic Reserve Fleet Reverted to (SS) 1971, While in reserve Struck from Naval Register August 15 1973 Transferred to Cruiser Olympia Assn. June 21 1976 COA now the Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, PA. Dedicated July 21 1978 as Submarine Memorial

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 Becuna SS-319 Covers Page 1     (1944-2008)

 

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 Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

 

Locy Type 3z (BTT) "USS BECUNA / LAUNCHED"

1944-01-30

Launching, cachet by M. J. Herald, sponsored by the Argonauts Crew No. 24, ANCS

 

Locy Type SL USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "Submarine Base / Br." New London CT

1952-02-13

Photo cachet by William T. (Duke) Gmahle

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USPS Pictorial Postmarks

 

USPS Pictorial "USS Becuna Station" Philadelphia PA

2000-04-11

Submarine Day 2000, cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "Submarine Day Station" Philadelphia PA

2002-04-11

Submarine Day 2002, cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "Tiger of the Sea Station" Philadelphia PA

2008-10-10

Crewmember Reunion, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Other Information

USS BECUNA SS-319 earned the Asiatic-Pacific Medal w/ 4 Battle Stars for her World War II service.

NAMESAKE - A pike-like fish of Europe.

 

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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.

 

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