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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Eddy County (LST-759)
ex
 USS LST-759 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Hotel - Delta
 NGHD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal

USS LST-759 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 11 June 1944, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.
  • Launched, 29 July 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-759, 8 August 1944, LT. John A. Baybutt, USCGR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-759 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Nine, CAPT. C. H. Peterson USCG (25);
     LST Group Eighty-Five, CDR. Millington, W. B. USCG (32);
     LST Division One Hundred Sixty-Nine and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 10 April 1945

  • Decommissioned, 29 March 1946
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Named Eddy County (LST-759), 1 July 1955
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 October 1958
  • USS LST-759 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    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-643/759/ABSD6 91k USS LST-759 and USS LST-643 approaching USS ABSD-6 at Guam, 29 May 1945.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-379466, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Nancy Reed
    LST-6436
    1016064302    		 600k USS LST-759 and USS LST-643 entering USS ABSD-6 at Guam, 29 May 1945.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-379467, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Joe Johnson for CDR. Robert Haven USNR and
    Nancy Reed to honor her father-in-law Dallas Dwain Reed CM2/c USNR SV-6 USS LST-643
    LST-643/759/ABSD6 112k USS LST-759 and USS LST-643 in the forward end of USS ABSD-6 at Guam, 29 May 1945.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-379468, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Nancy Reed
    LST-643
    1016064308    		 765k USS LST-643 and USS LST-759 in the forward end of USS ABSD-6 at Guam, May 1945. (Note caption should read LST 759 and 643 in dock from ABSD 6)
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Johnson for CDR Robert Haven USNR
    LST-834 85k USS LST-759, visible in the distance, with a "Rhino" bridge causeway fitted to her port side while USS LST-834 transports LCT-1415 to the Okinawa Beachhead, 1 April 1945 in company with other ships of the invasion task force.
    Real War Photos    		 Gerd Metthes
    LST-122 214k USS LST-221, USS LST-122 and USS LST-759 beached at Okinawa in August 1945. Patrick Dierking for his father Norman F. Dierking SF2c (CB)
    LST-759 125k USS LST-759 underway in San Francisco Bay, circa 1945-1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo #: NH 79022, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974.    		 Mike Green and
    Mike Smolinski
    USS LST-759 / USS Eddy County (LST-759)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Baybutt, John A. USCGR25 August 1944 - 21 February 1946
    02ENS. Kindred, Roy C. USCGR21 February 1946 - 29 March 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
    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 31 October 2025