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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Maricopa County (LST-938)
ex
USS LST-938 (1944 - 1955)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Charlie - Sierra
NKCS

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)

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USS Maricopa County (LST-938) was transferred to South Vietnam, renamed Da Nang (HQ-501) seized by Peoples Republic of Vietnam, renamed Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501)

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During World War II LST-938 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines Mindanao Island landings, 10 to 18 March and 24 March to 14 April 1945	Borneo operation Balikpapan operation, 26 June to 9 July 1945

Following World War II USS LST-938 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
9 September to 30 November 1945
29 January to 13 May 1946	29 January to 13 May 1946

Final Disposition, captured by the North Vietnamese around the time of the fall of Saigon, 29 April 1975, renamed Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501), still active

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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

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
USS LST-938 / USS Maricopa County (LST-938)
	70k	USS LST-938 entering San Francisco Bay having just passed under the Golden Gate Bridge as she returns from duty in the South Pacific, 27 May 1946.		Harold J. Windorfer USS LST-938 plank owner
1016093805	169k	USS Maricopa County (LST-938) under way, circa 1950s, location unknown. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 84876. Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976		Mike Smolinski
People Republic of Vietnam Ship Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501)
	45k	ex-Maricopa County (LST-938) in the Peoples Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) service as Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501) moored at the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard, Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), 13 September 2003.		Photo by Steve Loomis, SN, US Naval Advisory Group Vietnam
	47k	Peoples Republic of Vietnam ship Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501) moored at the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard, Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), 13 September 2003.		Photo by Steve Loomis, SN, US Naval Advisory Group Vietnam
	53k	Peoples Republic of Vietnam ship Tran Khanh Du (HQ-501) moored at the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard, Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), 13 September 2003.		Photo by Steve Loomis, SN, US Naval Advisory Group Vietnam

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USS LST-938/ USS Maricopa County (LST-938)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	ENS. Limes, Howard W., USNR	9 September 1944 - 5 December 1945
02	LT. Flato, Jerome Cecil, USNR	5 December 1945 - 20 February 1946
03	LTjg. Young Russell G., USNR	20 February 1946 - 3 June 1946
04	LTjg. O'Neill III, William C., USNR	3 June 1946 - ?
	Decommissioned	December 1949 - 14 December 1951
05	LCDR. Childress, Howard William, USN	14 December 1951 - ?

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 7 February 2020