STODDERT DD 302

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 STODDERT Destroyer No. 302
Commissioned 30 June 1920
USS STODDERT DD-302
Designated (DD) 17 July 1920
Decommissioned 1 May 1930
LIGHT TARGET NO.1, IX-35
Renamed (Unofficially) US LIGHT TARGET No. 1 (IX-35) November 1930
USS STODDERT AG-18
Redesignated Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG) 30 January 1931
Recommissioned 6 April 1931
Decommissioned 10 January 1933

Struck from Naval Register 5 June 1935
Sold 30 August 1935 and broken up for 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.

USS Stoddert Covers Page 1 (1927)
Light Target No. 1 Covers Page 1 (1933)

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

1st Commissioning 30 June 1920 to 1 May 1930

Locy Type 3 (D1)

1927-04-08

As DD-302

2nd Commissioning 5 February 1931 to 10 January 1933

Locy Type
5hks

"PEACE"

USCS Postmark
Catalog Illus. L-13

1931-11-11

STODDERT AG-18, using LIGHT TARGET No.1 Device. Armistice Day, Unlisted cancel.
STODDERT was never officially named "LIGHT TARGET No. 1," which was rather an operational title. Furthermore, the designation IX (misspelled "1X" in the cancel) did not become an official designation until 1941." USCS Postmark Catalog, 5th Ed.

Locy Type
5hks

"INDEPENDENCE /
DAY"

USCS Postmark
Catalog Illus. L-13

1932-07-04

STODDERT AG-18, using LIGHT TARGET No.1 Device. Independence Day with a Add-on cachet by Roger A. Wentworth
STODDERT was never officially named "LIGHT TARGET No. 1," which was rather an operational title. Furthermore, the designation IX (misspelled "1X" in the cancel) did not become an official designation until 1941." USCS Postmark Catalog, 5th Ed.

Locy Type
LDC 5hks

"LAST DAY OF /
COMMISSION"

USCS Postmark
Catalog Illus. L-13

1933-01-10

STODDERT AG-18, using LIGHT TARGET No.1 Device. Last Day in Commission, cachet by Harry Ioor.
STODDERT was never officially named "LIGHT TARGET No. 1," which was rather an operational title. Furthermore, the designation IX (misspelled "1X" in the cancel) did not become an official designation until 1941." USCS Postmark Catalog, 5th Ed.

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Benjamin Stoddert was born in Charles County, Maryland, in 1751. He served in the Pennsylvania cavalry and on the Board of War during the American War of Independence. After the war, he became a merchant at Georgetown, Maryland, a town that later became part of the District of Columbia, and during the 1790s was active in obtaining land for the use of the new Federal Government. In May 1798, Benjamin Stoddert was nominated by President John Adams to became the Nation's first Secretary of the Navy. In that post, he guided the Navy through the undeclared war with France and achieved a significant expansion in the United States' naval strength. He left office in March 1801 to return to commercial life. Benjamin Stoddert died on 13 December 1813. {DANFS}

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