KLEINSMITH APD 134
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.
-
Keel Laid August 30 1944 as DE-718 a Rudderow Class Destroyer Escort
- USS KLEINSMITH APD-134
Commissioned June 12 1945 - Decommissioned May 16 1960
Struck from Naval Register May 16 1960
- ROCS TIEN SHAN APD-315 (Taiwanese Naval Service)
Transferred to Taiwan May 16 1960 and renamed
Purchased outright by the Government of Taiwan 1974
Pennant number changes included (615) and (815) while active in the Taiwanese Navy
Reported to have been struck by the Taiwanese Navy in early 1998
Redesignated Crosley Class High-Speed Transport (APD) while under construction
Launched January 27 1945
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.
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 |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
1st Post Office Period July 12 1945 to January 25 1946
|
Locy Type 2# |
1945-08-27 |
 |
 |
Free and censored. Patriotic cachet by Mrs. Joe McGovern (JEM). Contributed by Robert Beeman.
|
Locy Type 9# |
1945-08-10 |
 |
 |
Mark from back of cover
2nd Post Office Period February 15 1953 to May 10 1960
|
Locy Type |
1953-05-12 |
 |
 |
Note:
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Chief Watertender Charles Kleinsmith, USN (September 28 1904 – June 4 1942), who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Midway.
Two ships of the US Navy have been named in his honor; USS Kleinsmith DE-376 and USS Kleinsmith DE-718/APD-134. Kleinsmith DE-376 was cancelled in 1944 before her keel was laid down.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum