BLAIR DER 147

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.

USS BLAIR DE-147
Commissioned September 13 1943 - Decommissioned June 28 1946
Recommissioned October 5 1951
USS BLAIR DER-147
Reclassified Radar Picket Escort (DER) November 1 1956
Decommissioned November 13 1956 for conversion
Recommissioned December 2 1957 - Decommissioned April 1 1960

Struck from Naval Register December 1 1972
Sold September 26 1974 as scrap

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.

Blair Covers Page 1 (1953-58)

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

2nd Commissioning October 5 1951 to November 13 1956

Locy Type
2

1953-01-02

As DE-147

Locy Type
9efu

1954-09-18

As DE-147

3rd Commissioning December 2 1957 to April 1 1960

Locy Type
2t(n+u)

1958-01-03

As DER-147

Other Information

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - WWII Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal

NAMESAKE - Eugene Blair USN (April 26 1908 - February 19 1942)
Blair enlisted in the Navy at Richmond, Va., on November 23 1929. After instruction at the Naval Training Station, Hampton Roads, Va., Blair served in four ships during his first two-year enlistment, the destroyer tenders USS DOBBIN AD-3 and USS WHITNEY AD-4, and the destroyers USS PRESTON DD-327 and USS LEARY DD-158, before being transferred to the new destroyer USS McDOUGAL DD-358 two days before Christmas of 1936. Transferring to the transport USS CHAUMONT AP-5 on November 4 1939, Blair was discharged at the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Va., on December 8 of the same year. Blair reenlisted on January 3 1940 at Boston and, following service at the New York receiving station, joined USS WILLIAM B. PRESTON AVD-7 on June 14 1940 when that small seaplane tender was recommissioned. He remained with that warship through her transfer to the Asiatic Fleet that December and was still serving in her when war engulfed the Far East in December 1941. WILLIAM B. PRESTON tended the PBY flying boats of Patrol Wing (PatWing) 10 in Philippine waters when the fighting began and continued this duty in the Netherlands East Indies before retiring to Port Darwin, Australia, in mid-February 1942. Planes from four of the six Japanese carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor struck Darwin on February 19 1942. Early in the raid, WILLIAM B. PRESTON got underway and headed for the open sea. As the attack had developed rapidly, Chief Machinist’s Mate Blair, a member of the after repair party, went below in company with Metalsmith 2d Class LeRay Wilson, to close hatches and watertight doors. Just after they finished that task, a bomb struck the ship in the compartment in which they were standing, killing both instantly. Their efficient performance of duty, however, limited the flooding suffered by the warship to two compartments. Each man received a Silver Star posthumously

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