THOMAS DD 182

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.

Wickes (Lamberton) Class Destroyer
Keel Laid March 23 1918 - Launched July 4 1918


1. USS THOMAS Destroyer No. 182
   Commissioned April 25 1919
   
   
2. USS THOMAS DD-182
   Designated (DD) July 17 1920
   Decommissioned June 30 1922
   Recommissioned June 17 1940 - Decommissioned September 23 1940
   
   Stricken January 8 1941
   
   
3. HMS ST. ALBANS I-15 (British Naval Service)
   Transferred to Great Britain September 23 1940 (Famous Fifty)
   
   Transferred to Norway in exile April 14 1941
   
   
4. DOSTOINYI (Soviet Naval Service)
   Transferred to The Soviet Union August 1944 and renamed
   Returned to Great Britain February 28 1949
   
   Broken up for scrap April 1949

 

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. Covers Page 1    (1940)

 

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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2nd Commissioning June 17 1940 to September 23 1940

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 "NEW LONDON / CON."

1940-08-21 to 1940-08-21

First Day of Postal Service, Cachet by M. Faye Muridge.

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 bars blank

1940-08-21 to 1940-08-21

First Day of Postal Service

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT) "NEW LONDON / CON."

1940-08-27 to 1940-08-27

Note:

 

Locy Type LDPS 3 (A-BBT) "LAST DAY / SERVICE"

1940-09-13 to 1940-09-13

Last Day of Postal Service, Cachet by Loring W. Stannard, sponsored by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Clarence Crase Thomas (December 26 1886 - April 28 1917)
Thomas was appointed Midshipman on July 7 1904 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy on June 5 1908. After service in Armored Cruiser USS MARYLAND ACR-8 and Gunboat USS YORKTOWN PG-1, he was commissioned Ensign on June 29 1910. In the next few years, Thomas served in Cruisers USS DENVER, USS CLEVELAND, and USS WEST VIRGINIA. Appointed Lieutenant (jg.) on June 26 1913, he was detached from WEST VIRGINIA in the summer of 1914 to attend a post-graduate course in steam engineering at the Naval Academy. He attended Columbia University in late 1915 and, on June 24 1916, reported on board Battleship USS FLORIDA BB-30 as her electrical officer. Thomas was commissioned Lieutenant on January 8 1917 and, about a fortnight after the United States entered World War I, was placed in charge of the naval armed guard on the merchant steamship SS VACUUM in April. On the 28th, when a lookout reported sighting a German submarine, some 120 miles west of the Hebrides Islands, Lt. Thomas went to the ship's after gun. A few moments later, a torpedo from U-21 struck VACUUM, and exploded, throwing Thomas and the gun's crew into the water. The ship sank within two minutes. Picked up by a boat, Thomas soon died of cold and exposure. He was the first United States naval officer to lose his life in the war with Germany and was posthumously awarded The Navy Cross "for distinguished service in the line of his profession as commander of the armed guard crew of the . . . VACUUM

 

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