STURTEVANT DER 239

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 STURTEVANT DE-239
Commissioned June 16 1943 - Decommissioned March 24 1946
Recommissioned August 3 1951
USS STURTEVANT DER-239
Reclassified Radar Picket Escort (DER) November 1 1956
Decommissioned November 11 1956
Recommissioned October 5 1957 - Decommissioned June 30 1960

Struck from Naval Register December 1 1972
Sold September 20 1973 to National Metal & Steel Co. 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.

Covers Page 1 (1943-58)

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 Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

1st Commissioning June 16 1943 to March 24 1946

Locy Type
2z*

1943-09-06

As DE-239

2nd Commissioning August 3 1951 to November 11 1956

Locy Type
2

1953-04-01

As DE-239
April Fool's Day
Illustration courtesy of Dick Armstrong

Locy Type
2

1955-08-05

As DE-239
Danish postcard and stamp
Illustration courtesy of Dick Armstrong

Locy Type
9efu

1955-02-14

As DE-239

3rd Commissioning October 5 1957 to June 30 1960

Locy Type
FDPS 2t(n+u)

1958-03-11

As DER-239

Locy Type
FDPS 9fu

1958-03-11

As DER-239
First Day Postal Service

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Albert D. Sturtevant USNR (May 2 1894 - February 15 1918)
On 24 March 1917, Sturtevant and 28 others enlisted in the Naval Reserve Forces as the First Yale Unit. Two days later, they were all commissioned ensigns. After flight training in Florida, he was designated a naval aviator on May 1 1917 and, in September, he received orders for overseas duty. Ensign Sturtevant reported to the group attached to the Royal Flying Corps station at Felixstowe, England, in October. Sturtevant's duties consisted of flying escort for merchantmen crossing the North Sea. On February 15 1918, while flying an escort mission with another plane of his unit, the two American were jumped by a flight of 10 German planes. Sturtevant's companion recognized the hopelessness of the 5-to-l odds and escaped to safety, but Sturtevant gamely fought it out with the enemy. When last seen, Ensign Sturtevant was hit and crippled, falling toward the sea. For his heroic actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously.

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