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Ship Timeline (DE-220/EDE-220) |
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| 29
May 1943. Philadelphia Navy Yard. These six Destroyer Escorts
were christened on the same day. In the foreground are the USS
Enright (DE 216), Coolbaugh (DE 217) and Darby (DE 218). The second row
are the J. Douglas Blackwood (DE 219), Francis M. Robinson (DE 220)
and Solar (DE 221). Trivia: DE 216 was converted to an APD in 1945 and sold to Ecuador in 1968. DE 217 received the 5" gun upgrade in 1945 and was not scrapped until 1973. DE 218 and DE 219 also received their 5" guns in 1945 but were both sunk as a military targets in 1970. DE 220 served as an Experimental Platform (EDE-220) and was scrapped in July 1973. The USS Solar blew up in April 1946 while unloading ammunition at the Naval Ammunition Depot in Earle, NJ. She was later scuttled approximately 100 miles east of NY harbor. Naval Historical Society #NH75610. |
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| 3
February 1944. Position 36º 56' - 75° 00'. The Robinson is still
carrying the 3-tube 21" torpedo tubes and the 1.1" machine
cannon. On the mast are the SA air-search radar (white radome about 3/4
way up) and the HF/DF (Huff-Duff) direction finding antenna at the
mast top.
National Archives #80-G-215506. |
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| October
1944 in Casco Bay, Maine during the Change of Command ceremony in which
Lt. Cdr. Johanson was replaced by Lt. Cdr. Paul Campbell. Aside from the
hull number there is not too much visible from this angle. It is a festive
affair as two women are visible on the foredeck near the number one gun
mount and a small boy is above the bow. At least two other DEs and a
Destroyer are
anchored nearby, but it is impossible to tell who they are. Casco
Bay was the headquarters of COMDESLANT, Commander Destroyers Atlantic
Fleet; it was the principal center for the training of destroyers and
DE's when they were between assignments.
Contributed by Charles and Mildred Weaver. Email at: weaver@mailbug.com |
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| 9
March 1945. At the mast top are the SA air search radar and the SL
Surface search radar. The 3-tube 21" torpedo launcher has been
removed and replaced with four Army-style single-barrel 40mm Bofors
cannons. A second mast has been added forward of the X-position and the HF/DF
antenna is mounted on the top.
National Archives #80-G-303500. (Top)
Taken just moments after the photo above. National Archives #80-G-303531 (Bottom) |
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| This
is an official USN photo that has suffered at the hands of the censor. The
radar antennas at the masthead have been blanked out. We can date it after
March 1945 (photo above) because the cross mast holds the new BK "ski
pole" transponder antennas. We can also date it prior to
October 1945 (photo below) because it still has the rear mast holding the
HF/DF antenna, whereas the October photo does not.
Courtesy of Paul and Joanne Burke. |
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| October
1945, Navy Day in Miami, Florida. This photo downloads in a large
format so you can scroll around and see a lot of detail. Sailors are
stationed at most of the key points to watch and help visitors. There is a
lot going on here and the expressions on people's faces are clear and
revealing. The line of civilians stretches clear out of sight. Sailors on
board have all the pretty girls cornered (nothing ever changes, does it?)
You can spend hours scrolling around trying to figure out the stories. A
pretty woman glancing at a passing an officer on shore asking
herself "did he notice me?" Another woman looking at the sole of her shoe asking "what
did I just step in?" A young officer on the gangplank with his
wife or girlfriend giving a "warning" look to a nearby enlisted
man. This picture recorded an instant in time, yet contains a thousand
stories. Every time I look at it, I discover something new. It is a prize. For the first time (so far) we can see the X-Position contains a twin 40mm Bofors. The depth charge racks contain a full load of live Mark 8s and the K-guns carry Mark 6s. A close look at the flying bridge shows the optical rangefinder moved forward and the newly installed Mark 52 GFCS on the raised platform. Contributed by Charles and Mildred
Weaver. Email at: weaver@mailbug.com |
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| 1947
(Estimated) Black & White
photo of DE 220. This photo, if it is a photo, is extraordinary only
because of the magnificent background clouds. The original
"photo" was really a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox...pretty bad
details. I scanned it anyway and digitally enhanced the details and
"smoothed" it. The result looks like a charcoal sketch.
Beautiful! Best of all, the "220" is still clear on the bow. I estimated the date prior to our March 1948 photo because the sound room in this photo has still not been expanded. The yard contains two DBM radar detection antennas and the stack shows the TDY radar jammer. Contributed by Tom LeBerth. |
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| March 1948,
EDE 220 near Key West, Florida. At the
mast top are the SA air search radar and the SL Surface search
radar. A BK "ski-pole" IFF interrogator is visible on the
starboard side of the cross-mast with the BL "whip" is mounted
on the bridge. The port side cross-mast holds a BLR "spoke"
antenna, and some other unidentifiable device aft of the BLR and TBS. Also on the
yard are two early DBM radar detecting antennas, which would indicate a
TDY radar jammer is also installed. Close examination does not clearly
indicate the TDY antenna, but the antenna's reflection is on the upper
stack. The second mast from
March 1945 is gone along with the HF/DF antenna, the usefulness of which
expired at the end of the war. The gun positions
amidships appear empty and have boxes stacked in them. All three
3"/50s are present. The three directors under canvas must be Mk 52s
since the 3.5 meter optical rangefinder is relocated forward and the new
Mark 52 on the bridge has been moved to the built-up platform. The X-position and two gun tubs near the directors appear to have
Mk 2 40mm dual barrel cannons installed. Finally, the Hedgehog, K-guns and
Depth charge racks are all unloaded & the ship is high in the
water.
Thanks to Nathaniel R. Williams for this one-of-a-kind photograph. |
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| June 25, 1948 in
Miami, Florida. This is a clear shot revealing the triple 21" torpedo
tubes have been replaced with two 40mm Bofors twin mounts. The Mark 52
directors near the 40mm mounts and on the bridge are also visible. The
original 1.1" machine cannon has been replaced with a 40mm Bofors quad
mount, not a twin as mentioned in the previous photograph. Not too many
other changes since this photograph is only 3 months newer than the prior
one.
The Mariner's Museum, Newport News, VA, Ted Stone collection. |
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| 30 July 1948. Aerial oblique of destroyers in formation. HMS Crossbow, HMS Battleaxe, USS Noa (DD841) and DE220.
No detail here... I just stumbled across this while at the National
Archives & thought someone would remember this mission & provide
some details. Help anyone? We operated with both Canadian & British Corvettes in 1948. I believe it was after the yard period, during which the latest Sonar was installed. Let me tell you, they ran circles around us. They were finding the Subs in weather too rough to operate. I keep reading those things and I keep remembering... Smooth sailing Foot Soldier, John Ryan National Archives #80-G-444102. |
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| 1948
- EDE 220 in Key West, Florida alongside the Greenwood (DE
679). The Greenwood served as a training ship at the Fleet Sonar
Training School from 2 May 1949 until 1954. Electronics-wise, both ships
are similarly equipped with the SA, SL, BLR and Talk-Between-Ships (TBS)
antennas. Also, just barely visible left of the Greenwood's flying
bridge is the tip of an aft mast. It is not possible to identify the
antenna. Both ships appear to have a Mk 52 director at the bridge. While
both the Robinson and Greenwood were originally equipped
with two 3" guns on the foredeck, the Greenwood was upgraded
to 5" guns in 1945. No other guns are visible.
Thanks to John Lorence from the Greenwood (DE 679) From John Ryan on 1/8/01: I
was looking through the pictures and data in the "Timeline".
There are a couple of things I can help you with. |
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| 29 March 1949 while
stationed at the Fleet Sonar School in Key West, Florida. The forward
two 3" guns are covered and the hedgehog is empty. The upper flying
bridge carries either a Mark 52 or Mark 63, the latter being more likely.
For the first time we see four single-barrel 20mm guns aft the stack in
the space formerly occupied by the torpedo tubes. Aft of that are two twin
barrel 40mm guns, each with a separate fire director. The X-position does
not have the quad-40mm installed although the covered ready racks are
probably loaded (after all, why cover empty ready racks?). The
K-guns are each loaded with a single depth charge, their nearby racks are
empty. Also, the starboard DC rack is empty while the port rack contains
five depth charges. Looks like they were ready to drop a single
pattern...
The series must have been taken in rapid sequence as the aircraft made a single pass because the crew are in identical positions. Although the National Archives numbers are not sequenced correctly, the photographs are.
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 National Archives #80-G-400318
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| 4 September 1949.
EDE-220 at Key West, Florida. Adam Vanyo took these photos on the same
day. the bottom one while dangling from the mast. The bottom photo shows
details of the stern. From the stern forward you see the movie screen set
up between the depth charge racks and the number three 3" gun. The
K-gun storage racks are still present but the K-guns have been removed.
The X-position quad 40mm guns has also been temporarily grounded and the
position appears empty. The two 40mm guns in the foreground each have
their own Mark 51 director.
Contributed by Adam and May Vanyo. |
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| 1949
(estimate). The antenna configuration is identical to the photo
below. The ship is clearly entering port as the anchor crew is standing by
on the bow with an officer supervising. The only reason I date this
picture prior to the one below is the sound room appears to have a fresh
coat of white, heat reflecting paint. In addition, it is
also missing the exterior supports and the battle awards on the flying
bridge. Even the signal flags are identical, although I am not sure that
is significant. Can somebody read those things? I'm an army guy, remember?
Contributed by Paul and Joanne Burke. From Jim Kennedy: The signal flags in the pictures are the ship's international call sign. Always flown when entering a port. The flags, from top to bottom, read N (November) X (Xray) A (Alpha) [or K (Kilo) - I'm not sure which and don't remember Robbie's call sign] W (Whiskey). That's NXAW or NXKW. (Looks like an A. I "found" the flags & posted below). International Call sign = NXAW. Another call sign was "Indigo Love", later changed to "India Lima". |
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 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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| 1949,
sometime after March. At the mast top are the SA air search radar and the SL
Surface search radar. BK "ski-pole" IFF interrogators are visible on the
starboard side of the cross-mast with the BL "whip" is mounted
amidships near the stack. Two DBM Radar detectors are clearly
visible on the cross-mast, as is the TDY jammer is mounted on the
starboard
side of the stack. The port side cross-mast that held the BLR "spoke"
antenna in 1948 is gone, as is the one mounted on the smokestack.
The sound room appears expanded and the ship battle awards are visible
below the flying bridge. A Mk 19 X-band ranging radar dish is barely
visible protruding from the X-position mount. The Mk 19 was used only on
the 40mm, indicating the X-position either retained the twin 40s or was
upgraded to a Quad 40mm Bofors cannon.
Contributed by Paul and Joanne Burke. |
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| 7 July 1950.
Entering Havana, Cuba. Not a lot of detail to be seen on this photo but
the SA and SL radars are visible. The Robinson is still carrying the three
3" dual purpose guns and the 20mm Oerlikons. The 21"
torpedo tubes look like they have been replaced with one (maybe two) 40mm
single barrel cannons on the starboard side and probably the same
complement on the port side. The flying bridge is covered with a white
tarp to protect the crew from the hot summer sun. The K-guns, storage
racks and roller racks on the fantail appear empty - odd since all the
guns are uncovered. The crew is on deck dressed in whites while the Cuban
onlookers watch from shore. Notice the vintage cars parked along the
roadside.
Contributed by Charles and Mildred Weaver. Email at: weaver@mailbug.com |
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| July 1950 in
Havana, Cuba. Same as above, probably taken on the same visit. Barely
visible behind the Robinson a Liberty ship passes by.
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| Probably
early 1950s. A
rare color photo of DE 220 showing the distinctive 50s large hull numbers.
There are crewmembers present on deck and on the bridge, so we
can rule out the mothballed period. Regardless, the picture is difficult
to date because the mast top is cut off and the weapons are not visible.
The sun was directly behind the ship when the photo was taken, making it
look like the ship is emerging from a mist. It is tied up next to another
unidentified DE.
Contributed by Otto Johnk. |
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| 1951 (estimated)
This is a scan of a postcard that Joe Cummings and several other
crewmembers bought from the ship's store. The SL antenna's protective
cover is painted black and the mast still contains the SA antenna and the
standard TBS, IFF, and ECM antennas described in previous photos. The main
difference in this photo is the Mark 19 X-band ranging radar antenna
mounted on the quad 40mm gun in the X-position. This would indicate the
main director mounted on the bridge has been upgraded to the more advanced
Mark 57 or Mark 63 GFCS. These directors were functionally equivalent, the
primary difference being the size of the radar dish, the Mark 57 using a
45" dish and the Mark 63 using a 30" dish.
Contributed by Joe Cummings. |
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| 4 July 1951.
Otto Johnk took these photo in July 1951 and believes it was on the 4th,
based on the ornamental flags on the rigging. The Mark 19 X-band
ranging radar antenna is visible on the aft 40mm gun.
Contributed by Otto Johnk. |
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| April 1952.
This rare color photo was probably taken from the USS Coolbaugh (DE-217)
while on maneuvers. While details are not clearly visible, you can
make out the large "220" on the bow.
Contributed by Otto Johnk. |
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| 1952 (estimated).
Everything on the yard has been removed except the TBS antenna. This is
also the first photo showing Robbie equipped with the new high resolution
SU X-band radar. The antenna is contained in a 24" white dome at the
top of the mast and had a range of approximately 20 miles. An improvement
on the SL, the SU was better at picking targets out of sea clutter.
Contributed by Joe Cummings. |
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| 8 July 1952. Now
equipped with the SU X-band surface search radar and a Mark 52 on bridge.
The ship still has the older SA air search radar. Aft is the 40mm quad with Mk 19 ranging radar dish, so
GFCS must be
the Mark 63. Also, two new twin-40mms are aft nearest the X-position.
Still carrying the eight K-guns. In front of the depth charge racks under
the cover appears to be the Fanfare
decoy. There is an article about the Fanfare decoy in the armament
section.
National Archives #80-G-443398 |
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| April 1957.
Still carrying the 3" guns in the number one and two positions. The
hedgehog (still a Mark 10 or Mark 11), has been moved to behind the number
two gun. Since this would be dangerous for that crew, we have to
assume that two Mark 10 hedgehogs are in place, one on each side of the
tub. The bridge has been highly modified, a result of the $500,000
restoration completed in 1957 (article courtesy of Paul
and Joanne Burke). The mast has also received significant upgrades.
The SU radar is still the surface search radar, although it looks like an
older SG-series is mounted next to it. Above the SU is a new SC-2
bedspring air-search radar antenna with a smaller BL interrogator on top.
Higher still is a new IFF interrogator/transponder antenna. Finally,
sitting at the top are new VHF/UHF communications antennas. The four
20mm guns aft the stack are gone but the quad-40mm in the X-position is
back, sporting a brand new Mk 34 Target Acquisition Radar and Mark 19 antenna.
Clearly, it has the new Mark 63 GFCS in the gun director positions. The
K-guns are gone.
National Archives #80-G-1028149 |
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| 27 July 1959.
The highly modified bridge is clearly visible in this photo, as is the
SU-radar and greatly modified main mast. The
rear of the ship also, for the first time, is covered with a tarp.
Also for the first time, we see the Destroyer Division 601 logo on the
stack. The 40mm from the X-position is gone, as is the directors from
amidships. The DC roller racks have also been grounded.
National Archives #80-G-1043735 |
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| 1959-1960
(estimate). A highly modified Robinson emerges... Beginning at the
top of the mast: The topmost antenna is chopped off but appears to be a
VHF communications antenna. The parabolic antenna below is an IFF
transponder. The old SA has been upgraded to the new SC-2 (or possibly the
SC-3 depending on the antenna measurements) AS-66-series air search
antenna. The small white antenna on top of the SC is the integrated BL IFF
interrogator. The large white "pod" contains the SU surface
search radar described earlier. On the bridge the ship's main GCFS is
visible and is probably the Mk 57 or 63. The optical rangefinder has been
grounded. Forward, the two 3" guns are still in place
but the number of Hedgehogs has doubled and were relocated to the bottom
of the superstructure, with one on each side. The cork lifeboats have
disappeared, as has the whaleboat, all probably replaced with inflatable
rafts that are not visible. On the stack, barely visible is the DESDIV 601
crest. The two 40mm
twins and the quad 40mm in the X-position are still in place, although the
GFCS for the quad 40mm seems to have been built up and improved. Based on
the radar dish mounted on the quad 40mm, I would guess the X-position
director is a Mark 63. All K-guns and depth charge racks are gone. On the
stern are two triple tube torpedo launchers, the one on the port side is
clearly visible. Unusual, but they seem to be underway with the movie
screen in place on the stern up against the number three 3" gun. The second photo is EDE-220's patch. Joe Dougherty wore this one from 3/59-6/60. It is still stained with Robbie's grease. The last photo is of the DESDIV 601 crest painted on the Robinson's stack while Joe was assigned to the ship. Contributed by Joseph and Kathleen Dougherty. |
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