THORN DD 647
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.
- Gleaves Class Destroyer
- USS THORN DD-647
Commissioned April 1 1943 - Decommissioned May 6 1946
Struck from Naval Register July 1 1971
Sunk as target August 26 1974 off Florida
Keel Laid November 15 1942 - Launched February 28 1943
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.
- Covers Page 1 (1943)
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.
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Postmark Type |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
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Kearny NJ |
1943-02-28 |
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Quad-Launching with USS BULLARD DD-660, USS TURNER DD-648 and USS KIDD DD-661
Green cachet by George Neumann
|
Locy Type |
1943-02-28 |  |
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Quad-Launching with USS BULLARD DD-660, USS TURNER DD-648 and USS KIDD DD-661
Brown cachet by George Neumann
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Locy Type |
1943-12-12 |
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Note:
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Locy Type |
1945-12-29 |
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Note:
Other Information
THORN received seven battle stars for her World War II service
NAMESAKE - Jonathan Thorn (January 8 1779 - 1811)
Thorn was appointed a Midshipman on April 28 1800. Subsequently serving with the Navy during the Tripolitan War, Thorn volunteered to take part in the hazardous expedition to destroy the captured Frigate PHILADELPHIA, which lay beneath the guns of the shore batteries in heavily defended Tripoli harbor. On February 16 1804, Lt. Stephen Decatur, Jr., led a party of these volunteers in the Ketch INTREPID into Tripoli and burned the erstwhile American frigate. Attached to the Schooner ENTERPRISE, Thorn was then assigned to Gunboat No. 4, under Decatur's command. In this vessel, he participated in the attack on Tripoli, with Commodore Edward Preble's squadron on August 3 1804. Specially commended by Decatur for his conduct in this battle, Thorn received command of one of the Tripolitan gunboats captured and commanded this vessel in the engagement with the Tripolitan pirates on August 7. Commissioned a Lieutenant on February 16 1807, Thorn became the first commandant of the New York Navy Yard at age 27. In 1810, he was granted a two-year furlough to command John Jacob Astor's sailing bark TONQUIN in a voyage slated to take the ship to the Pacific Northwest to establish a fur trading post. Anchoring off Nootka on June 5 1811, after a voyage which had taken the ship around Cape Horn to the Hawaiian Islands and to the mouth of the Columbia River, Thorn soon began trading with the local Indians. Angered by what they considered a bad business deal, the Indians came on board TONQUIN and, in a brief, bloody action, massacred Thorn and his crew
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