FITCH DD 462

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
Keel Laid 6 January 1941 - Launched 14 June 1941


1. USS FITCH DD-462
   Commissioned 3 February 1942
   
   
2. USS FITCH DMS-25
   Converted to High-speed Minesweeper (DMS) 15 November 1944
   
   
3. USS FITCH DD-462
   Reverted to Destroyer (DD) 15 July 1955
   Decommissioned 24 February 1956
   
   Struck from Naval Register 1 July 1971
   Sunk 15 November 1973 as target off the east coast of Florida

 

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. USS Fitch DD-462 / DMS-25 Covers Page 1    (1941-1955)

 

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	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2r

1955-02-21

As DMS-25

 

Locy Type 3z (BTT)

1943-05-21

As DD-462

 

Locy Type 9efu USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. F-8d

1955-02-21

As DMS-25

 

Locy Type 9vz

1945-05-09

As DMS-25

 

Locy Type 9xz

1946-01-24

DMS-25. Add-on cachet by Richard F. Hoffner

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. F-8a

1947-05-30

As DMS-25. Memorial Day, cachet by Donald R. Graf

 

Locy Type Fz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. F-8b

1945-07-14

As DMS-25

 

Other Information

USS FITCH received five battle stars for her World War II service

USS FITCH DMS-25 was at Tokyo Bay September 2 1945 for the Japanese surrender

NAMESAKE - Commander LeRoy Fitch, USN (1 October 1835 - 13 April 1875)
Fitch was a member of the Naval Academy class of 1856, and served with great distinction in the Civil War and afterward. Commanding USS MOOSE in the Mississippi Squadron, he pursued General J. H. Morgan, CSA, the famed raider, for 500 miles up the Ohio River, frustrating Morgan's attempts to cross the river and retire to Confederate territory.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. H. W. Thomas, grandniece of Commander Fitch

 

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