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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-54


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Golf - Whiskey
 NFGW
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is left to right
American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 3 October 1943, at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA.
  • Launched, 13 November 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-54, 24 December 1943, LTjg, Robert L. Bunting Jr., USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-54 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    European-Africa-Middle East Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944
    Landing troops and vehicles (56th Signal Battalion, and some V Corps troops), 8 June 1944 onto a Rhino
    off St. Laurent, France

  • Decommissioned, 5 November 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 November 1945
  • USS LST-54 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 22 March 1948, to Townsend Transportation Co., Bayonne, N.J.
    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-54
    1016005405    		 107k Painting by Harrison Standley od USS LST-54 high and dry while beached on Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 1944.
    US Army Center of Military History    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-54 141k USS LST-54 beached on Omaha Beach, Normandy. After disembarking vehicles LST-54 was used as a temporary hospital/surgery until land-based facilities were set-up. Submitted by Frank Principe, Jr., Photo by Frank James Principe, Sr., USS LST-54
    LST-54 81k USS LST-54 beached on Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 1944. A sketch by Eddie Baker, one of the ship’s crewmen at the time. The dramatic action was apparently artistic license, as LST-54 landed in the afternoon of 8 June 1944, after the beachhead was secure. Submitted by Frank Principe, Jr. for his father Frank James Principe, Sr., USS LST-54
    LST-54 234k USS LST-54, an unidentified LST and USS LST-515 beached, date and location unknown. LST-54 is unloading a truck. Submitted by Frank Principe, Jr., Photo by Frank James Principe, Sr., USS LST-54
    LST-54 57k USS LST-55, USS LST-53 and USS LST-54 moored, date unknown, possibly is the United Kingdom. Submitted by Frank Principe, Jr., Photo by Frank James Principe, Sr., USS LST-54
    USS LST-54
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS).
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Bunting Jr., Robert L., USNR24 December 1943 - 5 November 1945
    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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 5 November 2021