USS ENGLISH DD-696 Naval Cover 1944 Censored WWII Sailor's Mail

Description: USS ENGLISH DD-696 Naval Cover 1944 Censored WWII Sailor's MailIt was sent 15 May 1944. It was franked with stamp "Free". It was sent from Cheney to William Cowan of Gore Field, Great Falls, Montana.This cover is in good, but not perfect condition. Please look at the scan and make your own judgement. Member USCS #10385 (I also earned the stamp collecting merit badge as a boy!). Please contact me if you have specific cover needs. I have thousands for sale, including; navals (USS, USNS, USCGC, Coast Guard, ship, Maritime), military posts, event, APO, hotel, postal history, memorabilia, etc. I also offer approvals service with FREE SHIPPING to repeat USA customers.USS English (DD-696) was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer. She was named for Rear Admiral Robert Henry English, a submariner who commanded the light cruiser Helena and had been awarded the Navy Cross and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. English died in the crash of Pan Am Flight 1104 on 21 January 1943. USS English saw combat in World War II and the Korean War and later participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Cold War. She was transferred to the Republic of China Navy in 1970 and renamed Huei Yang, serving until she was decommissioned in 1999. She was sunk as a target in 2003. Construction and careerEnglish was launched on 27 February 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. at Kearny, New Jersey. She was sponsored by English's daughter, Ensign Eloise W English, USNR(W) and commissioned on 4 May 1944 by James Thomas Smith. Service in the United States NavyEnglish arrived in the Hawaiian Islands on 3 September 1944 for final training and service as plane guard during the qualification of aviators in carrier operations. On 17 December, she sailed from Pearl Harbor for Ulithi, where on 28 December she joined the screen for the aircraft carriers of Task Force 38 (TF) 38. She put to sea on 30 December for airstrikes to neutralize Japanese bases on Formosa, Luzon, Okinawa, and the coast of Japanese-occupied French Indochina in support of the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. On 12 January 1945, she mistook the U.S. Navy submarine USS Rock (SS-274) for a Japanese sailboat while Rock was on the surface in the South China Sea off French Indochina and opened gunfire on her at a range of 9,200 yards (8,400 m).[1] Rock crash-dived to 300 feet (91 m) and sustained no damage.[1] English underway in the 1940sEnglish returned to Ulithi to replenish between 26 January 1945 and 8 February, then sailed to Saipan to meet the cruiser Indianapolis and escort her to a rendezvous with newly designated TF 58. She screened the carriers as they launched airstrikes accompanying the Iwo Jima operation, hitting Tokyo before and after the assault on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After taking on fuel and stores at Ulithi from 4 March 1945 to 14 March, English sortied with TF 58 for strikes on Kyushu heralding the Okinawa operation. When Franklin was damaged by bombing on 19 March off Kyushu, English screened the carrier's retirement from the area, then rejoined the screen for strikes on Okinawa and nearby islands in the days preceding the assault. On 1 April, she closed Okinawa to provide Naval gunfire support for the invading troops, returning to the carrier screen for strikes against shore targets and shipping. She left the task force to bombard Minami Daito Shima on the night of 10 May. The next day, English went close alongside Bunker Hill, damaged by a kamikaze, to help fight fires and to evacuate Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher and his staff, who she transferred to another carrier. English put into San Pedro Bay, Philippines, from 1 June to 1 July for repairs and exercises, then sailed again with TF 38 for the final series of airstrikes on the Japanese homeland. She closed the coast of Honshū on 18 July to search for Japanese shipping in Sagami Wan and shell targets on Nojima Saki. Post-World War IIIn Tokyo Bay from 10 to 19 September, English voyaged to escort occupation shipping from the Marianas, then after 2 months of occupation duty cleared Sasebo passage to Boston, Massachusetts where she arrived 26 April 1946. English operated out of Boston, later Charleston and New Orleans, for exercises and to train members of the Naval Reserve, cruising along the east coast and the Caribbean. From 23 April 1949, she was home ported at Norfolk, Massachusetts, from which she sailed 6 September for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She returned to Norfolk on 26 January 1950 for exercises off the Virginia Capes and the Caribbean. Korean War 40 mm gun crew aboard the English prepares to bombard enemy installations along the Korean coast, circa October 1950 - February 1951Alerted for distant deployment upon the outbreak of the Korean War, English departed Norfolk 6 September 1950 for the Panama Canal, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Midway and Yokosuka, where she arrived 5 October. She supported the withdrawal from Hungnam, then proceeded with two corvettes of the Royal Thai Navy to shell Communist positions at Choderi and Chongjin. On 7 January 1951, one of the corvettes, HMTS Prase, was grounded in a heavy snowstorm. After unsuccessful attempts to salvage her, English destroyed the corvette with gunfire. On 20 January 1951 English began duty as the direct fire-support ship for a division of the Korean army, shelling positions at Kanson, Kosong and Kangnung, supporting the Korean advance. She served on blockade at Chongjin and Wonsan, and in 20 consecutive days on the firing line she helped disrupt attacks by Communist shore batteries. After a final period of service screening carriers on both coasts of Korea, she sailed from Yokosuka on 11 May eastbound for Norfolk. From her return to Norfolk on 9 June 1951, English resumed local training operations and in the winter of 1952 joined in cold-weather exercises off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. On 26 August 1952 she departed for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations in which she visited Britain and a tour of duty in the Mediterranean, returning to Norfolk 5 February 1953. In the fall of 1954 she visited Lisbon, Portugal. On 31 October 1954, while at sea for a major fleet exercise, she collided with the destroyer Wallace L. Lind, lost 50 feet (15 m) of her bow but suffered no casualties, sailing into port under her own power and was repaired by early in 1955. Suez CrisisFrom May to August 1955, English made a goodwill cruise to ports of northern Europe and between 28 July 1956 and 4 December 1956 served again in the Mediterranean, visiting Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. During the Suez Crisis in October–November 1956, she aided in evacuating American citizens from the area and patrolled the eastern Mediterranean to serve with the Sixth Fleet. Returning to Norfolk in April she spent the remainder of 1959 and all of 1960 in conducting an intensive program of antisubmarine warfare exercises. English sailed for the Mediterranean and the Sixth Fleet in September 1961, calling at Naples, Livorno and La Spezia, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; and Toulon, France. English refuels from USS Independence during the Cuban Missile Crisis, in October 1962Cuban Missile CrisisIn October 1962, English served duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis, primarily acting as plane guard for the aircraft carriers Independence and Enterprise, operating for over 30 days, without replenishment. [icon]This section needs expansion with: the ship's history from 1962 to 1970. You can help by adding to it. (October 2013)The English also served as a Reserve Training ship in the late '60s in Mayport, Florida. DecommissioningEnglish was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy List on 15 May 1970.

Price: 9.99 USD

Location: Weaverville, North Carolina

End Time: 2025-02-03T23:22:38.000Z

Shipping Cost: 1.5 USD