USS Sturtevant Der 239 ashtray Were these actually used on ships?

dumpsterdiver

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Dec 12, 2013
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I picked this up on a whim on the way out the door at the thrift store. At first I figured it was some kind of reproduction but I found many similar ones that weren't worth that much but I couldn't find this particular ship. I know that most everyone here has more military knowledge than I do so I was wondering if this would actually be an item on a ship or if they are sold some other way.

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The USS Sturtevant DE 239 was an Edsall Class Destroyer Escort in WWII. A Destroyer Escort was a small, very fast ship designed for anti submarine and air defense, a gun platform for protecting convoys in the north Atlantic. She was commissioned on June 16, 1943 and sailed under command of Lt. Commander Frederic W. Hawes. Near the end of WWII she was ordered to the Pacific, arriving in San Diego after the war ended, and was then ordered back to the Atlantic. She was decommissioned on 23 March 1956 and placed in mothballs. She was recommissioned in 1951, and served in various capacities in the Atlantic Fleet. On 31 October 1956, Sturtevant entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion to a radar picket destroyer escort ship. The conversion process lasted until 5 October 1957, when she was recommissioned as DER-239. On 7 February 1958, she departed Philadelphia for the Pacific Ocean to become the first radar picket in the distant early warning line of radar stations, protecting the U. S. from Russian missile threats. She served in the Pacific Fleet until 1960, when she was once again decommissioned. She was in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, (moth balls) until December 1972, when she was stricken from the Naval Register and sold for scrap. Your ashtray is off that ship, and would have been used in officers country, probably in the ward room. Sailors had much more simple ashtrays, perhaps a trench art ashtray made from the brass of a 5"38 shell, which is what I remember from the ship I was on. Here is a picture of DER 239.

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Thanks a lot. What more could I ask for. I appreciate your help and your service to the country. I did find a couple of reported submarine ashtrays and I can't help wondering how well that worked out on a submarine.

The USS Sturtevant DE 239 was an Edsall Class Destroyer Escort in WWII. A Destroyer Escort was a small, very fast ship designed for anti submarine and air defense, a gun platform for protecting convoys in the north Atlantic. She was commissioned on June 16, 1943 and sailed under command of Lt. Commander Frederic W. Hawes. Near the end of WWII she was ordered to the Pacific, arriving in San Diego after the war ended, and was then ordered back to the Atlantic. She was decommissioned on 23 March 1956 and placed in mothballs. She was recommissioned in 1951, and served in various capacities in the Atlantic Fleet. On 31 October 1956, Sturtevant entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion to a radar picket destroyer escort ship. The conversion process lasted until 5 October 1957, when she was recommissioned as DER-239. On 7 February 1958, she departed Philadelphia for the Pacific Ocean to become the first radar picket in the distant early warning line of radar stations, protecting the U. S. from Russian missile threats. She served in the Pacific Fleet until 1960, when she was once again decommissioned. She was in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, (moth balls) until December 1972, when she was stricken from the Naval Register and sold for scrap. Your ashtray is off that ship, and would have been used in officers country, probably in the ward room. Sailors had much more simple ashtrays, perhaps a trench art ashtray made from the brass of a 5"38 shell, which is what I remember from the ship I was on. Here is a picture of DER 239.
 

I did find a couple of reported submarine ashtrays and I can't help wondering how well that worked out on a submarine.
I found a submarine ashtray a couple years ago. Though I can't remember how much I sold it for. I think it was either $29.99 or $39.99. USS SPIKEFISH 404


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What you want are the metal models of those ships or subs, given out at the shipyard. $$$$
 

I had to look up those model ships scale 1/1250.
 

USS Sturtevant DER 239 Ashtray

I picked this up on a whim on the way out the door at the thrift store. At first I figured it was some kind of reproduction but I found many similar ones that weren't worth that much but I couldn't find this particular ship. I know that most everyone here has more military knowledge than I do so I was wondering if this would actually be an item on a ship or if they are sold some other way.

View attachment 1126514View attachment 1126514

I would like to buy the ashtray shown in your quote. Will you sell it to me?
 

I did find a couple of reported submarine ashtrays and I can't help wondering how well that worked out on a submarine.

Back then everyone smoked so it probably did not bother anyone. After a quick search smoking was only allowed when on the surface. As of 2011 no smoking at all on subs.
 

Nice ashtray! I found a similar ashtray a few months ago, it was a vintage Naval Aviators ashtray. I paid .99 cents for it and believe it sold on eBay for about $40. I always keep an eye out for those now. Nice find!
 

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Very nice piece of history! :occasion14:
 

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