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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-688


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - November - Hotel
 NFNH
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 17 January 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 5 March 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-688, 27 April 1944, LT. Harold A. Brock, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-688 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944    		 Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 18 October to 6 November and 19 to 29 November 1944    		 Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 16 May to 30 June 1945

  • For the Okinawa Gunto operation USS LST-688 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Fourteen, CAPT. E. A. Seay USN (24);
     LST Group Forty, CDR. G. Reith USN (24);
     LST Division Eighty
  • Following World War II USS LST-688 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following period:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    2 September 1945 to 11 February 1946
  • Decommissioned, 5 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 25 September 1946
  • USS LST-688 earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 17 September 1947, to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, WA.
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t. (beaching displacement)
    Length 328' o.a.
    Beam 50'
    Draft
    light 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft
    sea-going 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft
    landing 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)
    limiting 11' 2"
    maximum navigation 14' 1"
    Speed 11.6 kts. (trial)
    Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
    Complement
    13 officers
    104 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    16 officers
    147 enlisted
    Boats 2 LCVP
    Cargo Capacity (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons)
    Typical loads
    One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck
    Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting
    Armament (varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was
    2 - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors
    4 - Single 40MM gun mounts
    12 single 20MM gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 4,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-567A, 900hp Diesel engines
    single Falk Main Reduction Gears
    three Diesel-drive 100Kw 230V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two propellers, 1,700shp
    twin rudders
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    LST-688
    1016068802    		 89k USS LST-688 commissioning ceremony, 27 April 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN. USS LST-688 is alongside an unidentified LST probably yet to be commissioned. Also note LST-694 in the background. She would not be commissioned until 19 May 1944.
    USS LST Ship Memorial Inc.    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-688 46k USS LST-688 at anchor in San Francisco Bay off Naval Station Treasure Island, CA., circa 1946. Mark Butler in honor of his father Bruce Butler USS LST-688
    USS LST-688
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. May, Brock, Harold A. USNR27 April 1944 - 30 November 1945
    02LTjg. Knapp, Edgar H. USNR30 November 1945 - 19 January 1946
    03 19 January 1946 - 5 August 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 8 January 2021