RICH DD 820

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.

Gearing Class Destroyer Keel Laid May 16 1945 - Launched October 5 1945 USS RICH DD-820 Commissioned July 3 1946 - Decommissioned June 15 1947 Recommissioned after conversion April 30 1948 USS RICH DDE-820 Redesignated Escort Destroyer (DDE) March 4 1950 USS RICH DD-820 Reverted to Destroyer (DD) June 30 1962 Decommissioned December 15 1977 Stricken December 15 1977 Sold December 1979 and broken up 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. Rich Covers Page 1    (1946-69)

 

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

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1st Commissioning July 3 1946 to June 15 1947

 

Locy Type FDC 2(n)

1946-07-03

As DD-820
First Day of Commission, cachet by Morris W. Beck

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1947-07-04

As DD-820

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2nd Commissioning April 30 1948 to December 15 1977

 

Locy Type 2(n+) USCS Catalog Illustration R-15

1955-12-29

As DDE-820
Cachet by George V. Sadworth

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (DD,USS)

1969-05-26

As DD-820
Apollo X Space Program support

 

Locy Type 2t(nu) (DD)

1948-05-31

As DD-820

 

Locy Type 9ef(nu) USCS Catalog Illustration R-15c

1955-12-29

As DDE-820
Cachet by George V. Sadworth

 

Locy Type P [R-15 with "E" removed]

1965-06-03

As DD-820

 

Locy Type P [R-15a with "E" removed]

1967-10-05

DD-820. Reported by Bob Govern.

 

Other Information

RICH was awarded three battle stars for service off Vietnam.

NAMESAKE - Lieutenant (junior grade) Ralph McMaster Rich (January 22 1916 - June 18 1942).
Designated a Naval Aviator on July 12 1940, he was commissioned Ensign on August 16th, and assigned to Fighting Squadron Six (VF-6) in the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6) on 28 November.
Ensign Rich participated in several of the early actions of the Pacific War. Among them were the February 1 1942 raid on the Marshall Islands, in which he destroyed a Japanese bomber on the ground, and the February 24th attack on Wake Island.
Promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) on May 28 1942, he led a section of fighters covering the approach of American bombers against the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Midway June 4-6 1942. In addition, Lt.(j.g.) Rich is credited with shooting down one enemy torpedo plane while flying on combat air patrol over Yorktown (CV-5). On June 18 1942, while participating in aerial gunnery practice over the Hawaiian Islands, his F4F-4 "Wildcat" fighter lost a wing and crashed, killing Lt.(j.g.) Ralph M. Rich instantly. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his "capable and aggressive leadership" in the Midway battle, which enabled his attack group to "maintain continuous flight over enemy naval units, thereby assuring our dive bombers an unmolested approach."

Two US Navy ships have been named in his honor; USS Rich DE-695 and USS Rich DD/DDE/DD-820.

 

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