JonBurdett: added 1 cover

2011-12-14T21:40:06Z

added 1 cover

New page

<h3>Ship Name and Designation History</h3>
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during
its lifetime.
The list is in chronological order.
<table width="90%">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ol>Buckley Class Type TE Destroyer Escort<br/>
Keel Laid March 22 1943 - Launched June 19 1943<br/><br/>
<li>'''USS BLESSMAN DE-69'''<br/>
Commissioned September 19 1943<br/><br/>
<li>'''USS BLESSMAN APD-48'''<br/>
Redesignated Charles Lawrence Class High Speed Transport (APD) July 31 1944<br/>
Decommissioned January 15 1947<br/><br/>
Struck from Naval Register June 1 1967<br/><br/>
<li>'''ROKS CHUNG SHAN PF-44''' (Taiwanese Naval Service)<br/>
Transferred to Taiwan July 3 1967<br/><br/>
Stricken by Taiwan May 1995, broken up for scrap.
</ol></td>
<td align="center" width="220" valign="top">

</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>

<h3>Naval Covers</h3>
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the
ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for
example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same
ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner).
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.
<ol>
<li> Covers Page 1     (1946)</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>

<h3>Postmarks</h3>
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a
separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. 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.
<br/> <br/>
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.



<br/> <br/><table width="95%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr><th align="center" valign="center" width="140">
Postmark Type<br/>---<br/>Killer Bar Text
</th><th align="center" valign="center" width="100">
Date From<br/>to<br/>Date To</th>
<th align="center" width="320">Thumbnail Link To<br/>Postmark Image</th>
<th align="center" width="120">Thumbnail Link To<br/>Cover Image</th>
</tr></table>




<br/> <br/><table width="95%" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td align="center" valign="center" width="140">
Locy Type<br/>2(n)
</td><td align="center" valign="center" width="100">
1946-01-09
</td><td align="center" width="320">
[[Image:JonBurdett blessman apd48 19460109 pm.jpg|thumb|center|300px]]
</td><td align="center" width="120">
[[Image:JonBurdett blessman apd48 19460109.JPG|thumb|center|100px]]
</td></tr></table>
As APD-48




<br/> <br/><table width="95%" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td align="center" valign="center" width="140">
Locy Type<br/>2(n) (used after POD)
</td><td align="center" valign="center" width="100">
1946-01-29
</td><td align="center" width="320">
[[Image:GregCiesielski_Blessman_APD48_19460129_1_Postmark.jpg|thumb|center|300px]]
</td><td align="center" width="120">
[[Image:GregCiesielski_Blessman_APD48_19460129_1_Front.jpg|thumb|center|100px]]
</td></tr></table>
As APD-48<br/>
Cachet by [[Cachet_Maker_Louis_S_Pentel_ | Louis S. Pentel]]. Records indicate Post Office Discontinued on January 19 1946


<p> </p>
<h3>Other Information</h3>
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...<br/>
Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/2 battle stars) - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (w/ 1 battle star) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal w/1 star<br/><br/>
'''NAMESAKE''' - Edward Martin Blessman USN (December 29 1907 - February 4 1942)<br/>
Blessman was appointed Midshipman from the 9th District of Wisconsin on June 21 1927 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy on June 4 1931. Service at sea in [[MARYLAND BB 46|USS MARYLAND BB-46]] and [[HALE DD 133|USS HALE DD-133]] preceded flight training at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., after which he served in VS-2B in [[LEXINGTON CV 2|USS LEXINGTON CV-2]] and VP-17F, based on [[THRUSH AVP 3|USS THRUSH AVP-3]]. Following a two-year tour at the NAS Anacostia, Blessman, promoted to Lieutenant in January 1939--joined [[MARBLEHEAD CL 12|USS MARBLEHEAD CL-12]], then with the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, on December 10 1939. He was still serving in her when Japan launched its onslaught in the Far East in December 1941.<br/>
On February 4 1942, MARBLEHEAD stood out of Surabaya, Java, as part of a mixed American-Dutch cruiser-destroyer force under Rear Admiral Karel W. F. M. Doorman, RNN. Japanese flying boats from the Toko Kŝkūtai, however, spotted the force as it attempted to transit the Madoera Strait to attack the Japanese Borneo invasion fleet. Thus forewarned, Japanese naval land attack planes bombed the allied force. At 1027, a stick of seven bombs from a Kanoya Kŝkūtai plane straddled MARBLEHEAD. The first of the two bombs to hit the ship penetrated the main deck and exploded near “wardroom country,” the blast ripping through the light sheet metal bulkheads that comprised the boundaries of the compartment. Blessman, who, as the ship’s Senior Aviator had no air defense station and was in the wardroom at the time, was killed instantly by the concussion.



<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either
[[Contact_Us | contact the Curator]] or edit this page yourself and add it.
See [[Editing_Ship_Pages | Editing Ship Pages]] for detailed information on
editing this page.
<p> </p>
<hr>
<font size="-2">Copyright {{CURRENTYEAR}} Naval Cover Museum</font>

BLESSMAN APD 48 - Revision history

JonBurdett: added 1 cover