MURPHY DD 603

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.

Benson Class Destroyer Keel Laid May 19 1941 - Launched April 29 1942 USS MURPHY DD-603 Commissioned July 27 1942 Heavily damaged (Collission) with S.S. BULKOIL October 21 1943 38 of her crew were lost and remain on duty Remained in commission while a new bow was built Decommissioned March 9 1946 Struck from Naval Register November 1 1970 Sold October 6 1972 and broken up for scrap

Naval Covers

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1. Covers Page 1     (1943-45)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. 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.

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

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-01-16

Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Other Information

MURPHY received four battle stars for World War II service

The story of her collision is part of a History Channel "Deep Sea Detectives" episode entitled "Destroyer Down."

NAMESAKE - John McLeod Murphy (February 14 1827 - 1884)
Murphy, a civil engineer was appointed Midshipman August 10 1841. Resigning as a Passed Midshipman May 10 1852. He served in the war with Mexico, and in 1851 was detailed as hydrographic assistant on Major John G. Barnard’s survey of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. In 1853 he visited Mexico, and in 1855 he was surveyor of the city of New York. He was constructing engineer of the Brooklyn Navy-Yard in 1856. In the later year he was commissioned Colonel of New York engineers, and took part in the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac until the close of 1862. He was appointed Acting Lieutenant, USN, December 4 1862 and took command of Gunboat CARONDELET March 4 1863, skippering that ship during the joint Army-Navy Expedition in Steele’s Bayou under Rear Adm. David D. Porter, March 18-24, in which he landed with two boat howitzers and 300 men near Rolling Fork to hold that place until the Union ships could cover it with their guns. He next took CARONDELET off Vicksburg engaging batteries at that Confederate fortress many times from May 18 to July 3, being commended by Admiral Porter for energetic attention to orders and ready cooperation with Army corps commanders assaulting the fortress. Acting Lieutenant Murphy relinquished command of the gunboat September 1 and resigned his commission July 30 1864 and resumed his profession as a civil engineer. Murphy was a frequent contributor to the newspaper and periodical press on subjects connected with his specialty. He died in New York City in 1884

 

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