USN – Retired Landing Ships

Landing Ships

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Landing Ship Tank (LST)

Newport Class LOA 522′ TDISP 8,500 tons (20, 12 to other navies – most now retired, remaining USN units retired)

DN-SN-90-00384
USS Newport LST-1179, 1987. Note the enormous bow derrick, which deploys a 112′ ramp forwards, which will take vehicles up to 75 tons. NARA: 330-CFD-DN-SN-90-00384

Newport LST Hawaii 2004USS Cayuga LST-1186 (1970-1994) transferred to Brazil as Mattoso Maia G-28 (still in service as of 2019)Newport LST Brazil 2018

TEAM SPIRIT 87
A Newport Class LST unloads an amphibious vehicle during exercises in South Korea, 1987 NARA: 330-CFD-DN-SN-89-04992 PHCS Ron Bayles

USS Boulder LST-1190 (1971-1994) laid up at Philadelphia inactive ships facility as of 2019.USS Boulder LST-1190 Philadelphia 2019ex-USS Sumter LST-1181 (1970-1993) transferred to Republic of China (Taiwan) 1997 as ROCS Chung Ping LST-233, in service.

ROCS Chung Ping LST-233 Kaohsiung 2018
Note the twin 3″ guns behind the bridge in port and starboard gun tubs have been replaced by Bofors 40mm mountings.

LST MK.2 Class LOA 328′ TDISP 3,800 tons (ca. 1000 built over 3 sub-classes) dubbed by their crews and service personnel “Large Slow Targets”

Korean LST NARA 6353465
Republic of Korea ROKS Gyebong LST-675 (formerly a USN LST) during exercise Team Spirit 1982 NARA: 330-CFD-DN-ST-82-06900 PH1 Dennis Brockschmidt

LST-1 sub-class

ex-USS LST-230 (1943 – 1946) participated in Normandy landings, transferred to Shipping Control Authority, Japan in 1952. Transferred to Philippine Navy 1976 as BRP Laguna (LS-501) and still active as of 2019

Philippine LST Cavite City 2010
Of these two LSTs, the top vessel is a LST Mk. 2 of the LST-1 subclass (based on the elevator to the tank deck near the bows) and so should be the BRP Laguna,the sole of its type in Philippine Navy service. The lower vessel is an LST-542 subclass, with the vehicle ramp down to the tank deck. This feature allowed LSTs to unload loads of lorries off the upper deck faster. Both vessels have their bow doors open.

USS LST-325 LST-1 class Landing Ship, Tank (1943-1961) transferred to Greece 1964 as RHS Syros (L-144), decommissioned 1999. Museum ship Evansville IN

USS LST-325 Evansville IN 2014
USS LST-325 exhibits the features of an LST-1 sub-class including the distinctive elevator to the tank deck in the bows (with a truck on it). The ship’s bow doors are open, and there is a landing craft, an LCM, on the dock next to the ship’s bridge.
LST 357 NHHC USA C-708
USS LST-357 loading in preparation for D-Day landings, 1944 NARA: USA C-708 Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command

USS-393 (1942 – 1947) Sold 1948 as ferry to span Lake Michigan to Milwaukee to the Highway 16 and was named Highway 16. Preserved after 2000 as Museum ship Muskegon MIUSS LST-393 Muskegon 2017

US LST 80-G-K-2239
USS LST-942 80-G-K-2239 Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command

USS LST-480 (1943 – 1944) burned during the West Loch Disaster, an explosion of ammunition near Pearl Harbor 21 May 1944 that sunk 6 LSTs, and damaged others, and claimed the lives of 163 sailors.

USS LST-480 wreck HW 2015
The bows of LST-480 are still visible, with the bow doors missing.

LST-491 sub-class LOA 328′ TDISP 3,600 tons

LST-510 USS Buncombe County (1944 – 1958), extensively modified for commercial service as a car ferry. Currently ferry MV Cape Henlopen between Orient Long Island, NY and New London Connecticut.USS LST-510 Orient LI 2016.jpg

LST-542 sub-classLST type 542 Sangley pt. 2010

ex-USS LST-566 (1944 – 1973) transferred to Philippine Navy 1976 as BPR Lanao Del Norte (LST-504), grounded near the Philippine-claimed island of Thitu in the Spratly Islands ca. 2005, and is now a wreck.BRP Lanao Del Norte (LST-504) Thitu Island 2005BRP Lanao Del Norte (LST-504) Thitu Island 2014ex-USS Harnett County LST-821 (1944 – 1970) transferred to South Vietnam (1970 – 1976) RVNS My Tho then transferred to Philippine Navy as BRP Sierra Madre, still in commission but used as a stationary outpost permanently grounded on a shoal in the South China Sea in 1999, as a result of a territorial dispute with China over Spratly Islands.BRP Sierra Madre south China Sea 2018

USS LST-849, (1945 – 1958) transferred to South Korea as ROKS Wi Bong (LST-676) 1958 served to 2006. Museum ship Jinpo Maritime Park in GunsanUSS LST 849 Gunsan Korea 2016

ex-LST-938 (1944 – 1956) postwar named USS Maricopa County transferred to South Vietnam as  RVNS Da Nang HQ-501(1962 – 1975) captured April 1975 and commissioned into North Vietnamese Navy as Tran Khanh Du HQ-501, (1975 – present) AND ex-LST-603 (1944 – 1969) – Operation Dragoon, Southern France landings. Postwar named USS Coconino County transferred to South Vietnam as RVNS Vung Tau HQ-503 (1969 – 1975) captured 1975 and commissioned into North Vietnamese Navy, currently a training ship, name unknown.

LST Ho Chi Minh City 2019
Some photographs suggest HQ-503 is outboard. The smaller vessel is a Soviet Russian built Polnocny-B landing ship.

Republic of China (Taiwan) about 21 were transferred from US to Taiwan from 1946-1961 (several still in service) these were mostly of the LST-542 sub-classLST Taiwan Zuoying 2019

ex-USS LST-1008 (1944 – 1946) subsequent history unclear, was preserved as a museum ship at Qingdao, Shandong, China, but appears to have been disposed of around 2007USS LST-1008 Qingdao 2004

LST Building, Fort Knox, KY. This building was originally built to test the principles of the landing ship, and practice loading and unloading vehicles. Originally, the building had a second level that approximated the upper deck.

LST Building Fort_Knox,_KY_LST_Building_in_WWII_(1873681778)
A Stuart tank (minus the 37mm gun) driving out from the “bows” of the LST Building, Fort Knox, KY, ca. 1942. Credit: army.arch from USA / CC BY 
LST building Fort Knox KY 2018
The LST building was originally developed to test the ventilation arrangements of the interior, to ensure proper ventilation of vehicle exhaust. Note the upturned “bow” section with the raised roofline and the section for the bow doors. The approximate dimensions are those of the well-deck of the LST, not the overall length. All was originally developed to approximate the interior of an LST, with rivets and other fittings, and a lack of windows. Later, the building was modified to a classroom.

Landing Ship Medium

LSM-1 Class LOA 204′ TDISP 1,095 tons (558 built, 1944-45)

LSM 443 NH 51434
USS LSM-443 NH-51434 D.M. McPherson. Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command

USS LSM-45 (1944-1947) transferred to Greece (1958-1998). Restored 1998 and brought back to US. Eventually became the last unmodified LSM in existence, plans to convert to a museum ship at Camp Lejeune, NC, failed, scrapped ca. 2012USS LSM-45 Sneads Ferry NC 2011

USS LSM-58 near HMCS Nootka NK-1592 (detail)
USS LSM-58 coming alongside HMCS Nootka, n.d. [Detail of] Credit: Library and Archives Canada / Department of National Defence, Copyright held by Crown NK-1592
17 LSMs transferred to Republic of China (Taiwan) 1946-1962. These were modified, having a central bridge structure. All were decommissioned by 2010 and appear to have been scrapped.ROCS LSMs Kaohsiung Taiwan 2013

Landing Craft Support Ships

Landing Craft Support (Large) MK.3 LOA 158′ TDISP 250 tons. About 130 built for USN, 1 preserved

NHHC LCS(L)19-N-73633 (1)
Camouflage scheme in 3 shades of green for a LCS (large) dated 1944. Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command: 19-N-73633 original at NARA Bureau of Ships Collection

USS LCS(L) 102 (1945 – 1949) active during Battle of Okinawa. Transferred to Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Himawari (1953 – 1965) then to Royal Thai Navy as HTMS Nakha (1966 – 2007) returned to US and currently restored by Landing Craft Support Museum, Mare Island CAUSS LCS-102 Mare Island 2018

Landing Craft Infantry (Large) LCI(L) LOA 158′ TDISP 400 tons (923 built over 3 types)

LCI(L)-351 class, LCI(L) 402 subclass

LCI-713_2012_-_Portland_Oregon
LCI(L)-713 at Swan Island Basin, Portland OR, ca. 2012. Credit: Ian Poellet (User:Werewombat) / CC BY-SA

LCI(L) 713 (1944-1945) veteran of Pacific War landings. LCI(L) 402 subclass, with the rounded conning tower and the bow doors and enclosed ramp. Under restoration at the Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum, Portland OR. Sold commercially after the war, used as a tugboat and barge, becoming a derelict and then a wreck. In the 1970s, the long restoration began.USS LCI(L) 713 Portland OR 2018LCI(L)-1091, (1944-1955) also a 402 subclass (Rounded conning tower, bow doors and enclosed ramp) preserved at Eureka, CA. Veteran of the Pacific War and, as LSIL-1091, the Korean War. Sold commercially and used as a cannery ship and a fishing boat on until 2003.USS LCI(L) 1091 Humboldt CA 2019

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