WASMUTH DMS 15

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.

Clemson Class Destroyer
Keel Laid 12 August 1919 - Launched 15 September 1920


1. USS WASMUTH DD-338
   Commissioned 16 December 1921 - Decommissioned 26 July 1922
   Recommissioned 11 March 1930
   
   Chandler Class High Speed Minesweeper
   
2. USS WASMUTH DMS-15
   Converted to High-speed Minesweeper (DMS) 19 November 1940
   LOST (Foundered in storm) and destroyed by own depth charges exploding 29 December 1942 off the Aleutians
   
   Struck from Naval Register 3 September 1943

 

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.

1. USS Wasmuth DD-338 Covers Page 1    (1933-40)
2. USS Wasmuth DMS-15 Covers Page 1    (1941)

 

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

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2nd Commissioning March 11 1930 to December 29 1942

Post Office Reestablished 11 March 1930 - Post Office Disestablished 30 September 1934

 

Locy Type 3 (B-BTT) "US FLEET / NEW YORK"

1934-05-31

DD-338.

 

Locy Type 3s (A)

1933-01-09

DD-338

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2nd Commissioning March 11 1930 to December 29 1942

Post Office Reestablished 4 May 1935 - Post Office Disestablished 29 December 1942

 

Locy Type 3 (B-BTT)

1941-06-04

DMS-15

 

Locy Type 3 (A-TBT)

1941-11-08

DMS-15

 

Locy Type 9v

1941-08-19

DMS-15. Type Set Copy Card,

 

Locy Type FAKE USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. CD-3

1941-09-15

Cachet and Cancel by Sibley's Dept. Store (Hobby Shop)

 

Locy Type Fxz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-11a

1941-08-19

DMS-15. Type Set Copy Card,

 

Locy Type Fz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-11

1941-07-16

Note:

 

Other Information

USS WASMUTH earned the American Defense Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 Battle Star and the WWII Victory Medal during her Naval career.

USS WASMUTH was at Pearl Harbor December 7 1941

NAMESAKE - Named in Honor of Private Henry Wasmuth, USMC (c. 1840 – January 21 1865).
Born in Germany but later a naturalized American citizen, Wasmuth enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on June 11 1861. Ultimately attached to the Marine detachment of the sidewheeler "Powhatan", Wasmuth took part in the assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on January 21 1865.
During the battle, Ensign Robley D. "Fighting Bob" Evans fell wounded from a Confederate sharpshooter's bullet. Private Wasmuth picked up the seriously wounded young officer and carried him to a place of comparative safety-—a shell hole on the beach. The Private stayed with the future admiral, ignoring the latter's urgings to take cover, until a sharpshooter's bullet pierced Wasmuth's neck, cutting the jugular vein. Within a few minutes, Wasmuth dropped in the edge of the surf and died. Evans later wrote: "He was an honor to his uniform."

The ships sponsor was Miss Gertrude E. Bennet, stepdaughter of Lieutenant Colonel R. H. Davis, USMC, an officer on duty at Mare Island.

 

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