TERN ATO 142

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.

Lapwing Class Minesweeper
Keel Laid September 7 1918 - Launched March 22 1919


1. USS TERN Minesweeper No. 31
   Commissioned May 17 1919
   
   
2. USS TERN AM-31
   Designated (AM) July 17 1920
   
   
3. USS TERN AT-142
   Reclassified Fleet Tug (AT) June 1 1942
   
   
4. USS TERN ATO-142
   Reclassified Fleet Tug (Old) (AT(O)) May 15 1944
   Decommissioned November 23 1945
   
   Struck from Naval Register December 5 1945
   Fate unknown

 

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. Tern Covers Page 1    (1928-43)

 

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

 

Locy Type 3ar (AC) "San Diego / Calif"

1928-02-29

As AM-31
Leap Year Day 1928

 

Locy Type 3 (AC-BBT) "HAPPY XMAS / &NEW YEAR"

1934-12-25

As AM-31
Christmas Day, cachet by Ted DeNyse, sponsored by Byrd L. Powell

 

Locy Type 3 (AC-BBT) "SAN PEDRO / CALIFORNIA"

1935-11-28

As AM-31
Thanksgiving Day, Cachet by Richard Dumonte

 

Locy Type 3 (AC-BBT) "SAN PEDRO / CALIF"

1938-12-25

As AM-31
Christmas Day, cachet by Loring W Stannard, sponsored by Frederick Horton.

 

Locy Type 3 (AC-BBT)

1941-07-25

As AM-31
Cachet by Walter G. Crosby

 

Locy Type 3r (A-BTT) "N.O.B. / NORFOLK, VA."

1939-04-09

As AM-31
Cachet by Walter G. Crosby

 

Locy Type 3s (B)

1932-04-19

As AM-31

 

Locy Type 3s (B)

1932-10-27

As AM-31
Navy Day, Cachet by Harry Ioor

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1943-09-13

As AT-142

 

Other Information

TERN earned 1 Battle Star (WWII)
* Pearl Harbor December 7 1941 at The Pearl Harbor Navy Yard

NAMESAKE - Named for a sea bird whose body is smaller than the gull which it resembles. It possesses a slender body, a narrow beak, and a deeply-forked tail. The tern inhabits coastal waters on both sides of the Atlantic

 

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