HAMNER DD 718

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.

Gearing Class Destroyer Keel Laid 25 April 1945 - Launched 24 November 1945 USS HAMNER DD-718 Commissioned 12 July 1946 - Decommissioned 1 October 1979 Struck from Naval Register 1 October 1979 ROCS CHAO YANG DD-912 (Taiwanese Naval Service) Sold to Taiwan 17 December 1980 Decommissioned 16 December 2003 Sunk as target 6 September 2005 by ROCS HAI HU SS-794 off Ping Tung

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 Hamner DD-718 Covers Page 1    (1947-1967)

 

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

 

Locy Type FDPS 2tnu

1946-08-14

First Day of Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2atnu

1948-10-27

Note:

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1967-10-27

Note:

 

Locy Type 2tnu

1947-01-01

New Year's Day, cachet by Donald Graf

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. H-53

1958-07-15

Note:

 

Locy Type 9ef(n+u) (USS)

1967-10-27

Note:

 

Locy Type 9efu

1955-09-29

From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Other Information

USS HAMNER earned the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal w/ 5 battle stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE: Lt. Henry Rawlings Hamner, USN (13 March 1922 - 6 April 1945)
Henry Rawlings Hamner was born in London, England. Appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Virginia, he graduated and gained his commission in June 1942. Hamner served to fit out and commission several new ships during the war, in addition to serving in the 12th Naval District and at Norfolk, Va. He was appointed lieutenant in July 1944. Lieutenant Hamner died on 6 April 1945 aboard USS Howorth DD-592 when the ship was hit by a kamikaze.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Henry Rawlings Hamner, wife of Lt. Hamner.

 

---

 

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 2026 Naval Cover Museum