SIMS APD 50

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.

Buckley Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid 7 September 1942 - Launched and Christened 6 February 1943 USS SIMS DE-154 Commissioned 24 April 1943 USS SIMS APD-50 Reclassified High-speed Transport (APD) 7 September 1944 Decommissioned 24 April 1946 Struck from Naval Register 1 June 1960 Sold 14 April 1961 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 name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. USS Sims DE-154 / APD-50 Covers Page 1     (1946)

 

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.

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 Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2z*

1944-04-22

DE-154. Official Business. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type 2z*

1946-02-22

APD-50

 

Other Information

USS SIMS earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 Battle star, the European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal and the WWII Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Admiral William Sowden Sims, USN (October 15 1858 – September 25 1936).
Sims, born in 1858 in Ontario, Canada, was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1876 and graduated in 1880. Seventeen years of sea duty were followed by assignments as Naval Attaché to Paris, St. Petersburg, and Madrid. Sims next served as Inspector of Target Practice; and, under his supervision, the naval gunnery system increased the rapidity of hits 100 percent and the general effectiveness of fire 500 percent. He also served as Naval Aide to President Theodore Roosevelt for two and one-half years. On 11 February 1917, Sims became President of the Naval War College. In March 1917, he was designated by the Secretary of the Navy as Representative of the Navy Department in London. With the entry of the United States into World War I in April, he was ordered to assume command of all American destroyers, tenders, and auxiliaries operating from British bases. In May, he was designated as Commander of United States Destroyers Operating from British Bases, with the rank of Vice Admiral; and, in June, his title was changed to Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters. On 10 December 1917, he assumed additional duty as Naval Attaché, London, England. The North Sea Mine Barrage was laid under his direction. Admiral Sims again became President of the Naval War College in April 1919 and served in that capacity until his retirement on 15 October 1922.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Anne H. Sims, widow of Admiral Sims.

Four ships in the US Navy have been named in his honor; USS Sims DD-409, USS Sims APD-50, USS W. S. Sims FF-1059 and USS Admiral W. S. Sims AP-127.

 

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