My grandfather served on the USS Sims during WWII. I am looking for any information about the ship or former crew members that may have served with him. I know he served in the North Atlantic and the Pacific and also had a period of shore duty in Rhode Island, perhaps as an instructor at Navy boot camp. I have already used the magic of google to find what is available there. Any other help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance. JB
One thread per topic please. There is not much that I can find that you probably don't have already. If you are looking for someone who might remember your father, you might want to try the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
USS Sims (DE 154 / APD 50) Specifications: Class: Buckley Type: TE (turbine-electric drive, 3" guns) Displacement: 1400 tons (light), 1740 tons (full) Length: 300' (wl), 306' (oa) Beam: 36' 9" (extreme) Draft: 10' 6" (draft limit) Propulsion: 2 "D" Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12000 shp, 2 screws Speed: 24 kts Range: 6,000 nm @ 12 knots Armament: 3 x 3"/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21" Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks Complement: 15 / 198 Sims (DE 154) Building and Operational Data: 7 September 1942: Keel laid by the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va. 6 February 1943: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Anne H. Sims 24 April 1943: Commissioned, Lcdr Charles G. Raible in command 7 September 1944: Reclassified APD 50, converted at the Boston Navy Yard 24 April 1946: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. 1 June 1960: Stricken from the NVR 14 April 1961: Sold for scrapping to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del. Undated photo of USS Sims, this picture is in the DE configuration prior to the conversion to an APD. http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/images/0615402.jpg USS Sims APD-50 Charles Lawrence Class High-speed Transport: Laid down 7 September 1942 as a Buckley Class Destroyer Escort at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth VA; Launched 6 February 1943; Commissioned USS Sims (DE-154), 24 April 1943</B>; Converted to a Charles Lawrence Class High-speed Transport; redesignated (APD-50) 7 September 1944; Decommissioned 24 April 1946; Struck from the Naval Register 1 June 1960; Final Dispositon, sold 14 April 1961 for scrapping. Specifications: Displacement 1,400 t; Length 306' (oa); Beam 36' 10"; Draft 13' 6" (max); Speed 24 kts; Range 6,000 nautical miles at 12 kts; Complement 186; Troop Capacity 162; Boats 4 LCVP landing craft; Armament 1 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, 3 twin 40mm gun mounts, 8 single 20mm gun mounts, 2 depth charge tracks; Propulsion, 2 GE Turbines, (turbo-electric drive), 2 boilers 2 shafts, 12,000 Shaft horsepower. photo of USS Charles Lawrence Class APD, USS Barr http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/04/100403901.jpg US Navy Community Log for the USS Sims. You just need to look down through the list to find people that served with your grandfather. The right hand column "Duty Station", look for APD-50 or DE-154, ignore links for the USS Sims FF-1059 and DD-409, there are 279 entries so it will take some time, click on the log book link for information on the individual sailor. http://www.navylog.org/Default.aspx?&gv382__gvac=1&gv382__gvff0=USS%20Sims&gv382__gvfl0=5&gv382__gvpi=0 Hope this helps.
My dad was on the USS Sims. He also did duty in the North Atlantic and the Pacific. My dad was an FC2. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1980. I have a lot of pictures of Sailors he took and some of them have names. Of course they are just first names. I have recently been going through a lot of his stuff. My grandmother kept a scrapbook with every letter he sent in it. My dad's name was Charles NMN Richards. I am having a great time going through this stuff.
My wife's father is thought to have served on the US Sims. but we can find no confirmation of his presence on the ship. Would a Jesse S. (Jay) Moss be in your grandmother's scrapbook? He was a lieutenant JG. possibly in an Engineering function. Based on what we know of his service we believe he served on the second USS Sims, as he was in the Naval reserve when the first was lost. We have a picture of him if that would help.
