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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-978


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Xray - November
 NKXN
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia clasp)
542-Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 15 December 1944 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 20 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS LST-978, 15 February 1945, LT. Albert F. Gallatin USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-978 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS LST-978 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    23 September to 2 October 1945
    25 October to 5 November 1945
    9 to 15 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 6 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping to the Salco Iron & Metal Co., 10 December 1947
    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 Contributed
    By
    LST-978 296k USS LST-978 underway, 1 April 1945, in the Atlantic Ocean bound for the Pacific via the Panama Canal with disassembled landing craft LCT-1441 and LCT-1448 on deck.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-317626, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Tracy White
    LST-978
    1016097802    		 694k USS LST-978 at anchor probably in San Francisco Bay, circa 1946.
    US Nvy photo from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, Vallejo, CA.    		 Darryl Baker
    USS LST-978
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Gallatin, Albert F., USNR15 February 1945 - 28 August 1945
    02LTjg. Bogart, Leonard B., USNR28 August 1945 - March 1946
    03ENS. Keeley, John L., USNRMarch 1946 - 6 June 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 Homeport
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To the Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 8 November 2024