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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-1039

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Alpha - Delta
NAAD

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 (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 26 November 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.

Launched, 6 January 1945

Placed in reduced commission, 30 January 1945, as USS LST-1039, Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA., LT R. B. McArthur, USN (Ferry Crew #15) in command

Commissioned in full as USS LST-1039, 9 February 1945, at Naval Station Algiers, LA., LT. George E. Paris, USN in command

During World War II USS LST-1039 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Thirty-Two; CAPT. CAPT. D. J. Sweeny;
LST Div One Hundred Ninety-Two;
LST Division One Hundred Ninety-Two and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 to 30 June 1945

Following World War II USS LST-1039 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
14 November to 5 December 1945
19 December 1945 to 4 January 1946
12 January to 12 April 1946

Decommissioned, 21 June 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 31 July 1946

Sold, 2 September 1947, to Columbia River Packers Association, Inc., for operation

Resold, date unknown, renamed MV Tinian reflagged France

Renamed MV Iraty, date unknown

Final Disposition, fate unknown

USS LST-1039 earned one battle star for World War II service

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
USS LST-1039
	286k	USS LST-1039 commissioning crew photo taken at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA. on 6 January 1945.	CAPT. Tom Meyers USCG (Ret.) for his father Charles Willard Meyers, Radarman 3c USS LST-1039)
	225k	USS LST-1039 under way on the Ohio River off Neville Island, Dravo Shipyard, circa 30 January 1945, enroute to Naval Station Agiers, LA. for fitting out.	CAPT. Tom Meyers USCG (Ret.) for his father Charles Willard Meyers, Radarman 3c USS LST-1039)
	140k	USS LST-1039 at anchor in Tokyo Bay, December 1945.	Tom Corcoran for his father LTjg. Ralph A. Corcoran USS LST-1039
	192k	USS LST-1039 probably under way in San Francisco Bay on either 14 May 1946 when entering the bay on return to CONUS or 18 May when departing San Francisco for Seattle. © Allied Photographers, San Francisco, CA.	CAPT. Tom Meyers USCG (Ret.) for his father Charles Willard Meyers, Radarman 3c USS LST-1039)
Merchant Service
1016103906	93k	Ex-USS LST-1039 in U.S. commercial service moored pierside, 2 September 1947, at Columbia River Packers Association Inc. Main Office Astoria Oregon, Columbia River historicfishing.smugmug.com	David Wright
	332k	Ex-USS LST-1039 in merchant service as the French commercial navy vessel MV Iraty moored in front of coastal-defense fort Vauban on the river Adour, Bayonne, France, date unknown. Note that she has no bow doors and has a modified stem. At this time *Iraty* was a refrigerated ship and was employed for tuna fishing off the coast of Dakar, Africa. Ship-owner was the Basque cooperative "Itsasokoa."	André Pilon

USS LST-1039
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
	LT. McArthur, R.B., USN (Ferry Crew #15)	30 January 1945 - 9 February 1945
01	LT. Paris, George Earl, USN	9 February 1945 - 21 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
USS LST-1039 Voyage Log, Pittsburgh to NavSta Algiers, LA.
USS LST-1039 Commissioning Crew Enlisted Roster
LST-1039 and other units of TU 96 Voyage Orders from Yokohama to Pearl Harbor, 12 April 1946
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 2 December 2022