BUCK DD 420

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 BUCK DD 420
Commissioned May 15 1940
SUNK October 9 1943 by German U-616 off Salerno Italy

150 of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on duty.

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.

Covers Page 1 (1938-42)

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

Locy Type
FDC 3r May 15, 1940

"FIRST DAY /
PHILA PA"

1940-05-15

First Day In Commission, printed cachet by Walter Czubay

Post office established May 28 1940 - Disestablished October 9 1943

Locy Type
3r (A-BBT)

"NAVY YARD /
PHILA PA"

1940-06-01

Although the date is wrong on the cachet, this cover commemorates the Launching of USS Washington BB 56 on June 1.

Locy Type
3z (BTT)

1941-08-08

Cachet by Arthur A. Christensen

Locy Type
9v

1940-07-15

Photo cachet by Louis C. Weigand

Locy Type
9x

1940-07-15

Photo cachet by Louis C. Weigand

Other Information

USS BUCK earned 3 Battle Stars for her WWII service.

NAMESAKE - Quartermaster James Buck, USN (1808 - November 1 1865).
Buck served in the Union Navy as an Acting Master's Mate and he was awarded the Medal of Honor as a Quartermaster under General Order 11, dated April 3 1863.
His citation reads: "Served on board the USS Brooklyn (Screw sloop of war, 1859) in the attack upon Forts Jackson and St. Philip and at the taking of New Orleans, 24 and 25 April 1862. Although severely wounded by a heavy splinter, Buck continued to perform his duty until positively ordered below. Later stealing back to his post, he steered the ship for eight hours despite his critical condition. His bravery was typical of the type which resulted in the taking of the Forts Jackson and St. Philip and in the capture of New Orleans."

The U.S. Navy has named three ships in his honor; USS Buck SP 1355, USS Buck DD 420 and USS Buck DD 761.

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