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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-73


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Romeo - Foxtrot
 NYRF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 December 1942, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 29 March 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-73, 8 June 1943, LT. Wilfred K. Bradbury USNR, in command
  • During World War II LST-73 was first assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater participated in the in the following campaign:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944

  • While assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS LST-73 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Six, CAPT. D. F. J. Shea USN (23)
    LST Group One Hundred Seven, CDR. L. F. Teuscher USN (23);
    LST Division Two Hundred-Fourteen
  • Following World War II USS LST-73 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 19 October to 6 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 13 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1947
  • USS LST-73 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 31 March 1948, to Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, WA.
    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-73 52k USS LST-73 moored at Bizerte, Tunisia in 1943 along with other LSTs. William Fraser USS LST-208
    LST-73 82k USS LST-73 is in the foreground), carrying troops of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, move toward the north coast of France on "D-Day", 6 June 1944. They are protected against low-flying enemy aircraft by gas-filled balloons.
    US Army Signal Corps. photo # SC 190462, from the US Army Signal Corps photo collection of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    USS LST-73
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Bradbury, Wilfred Kingston, USNR8 June 1943 - 25 August 1943
    02LT. Crossan, Henry M., USN25 August 1943 - February 1945
    03LT. Wales Jr., Charles, USNRFebruary 1945 - 1945
    04LTjg. Beall Jr., Frank R., USNR1945 - June 1946
    05ENS. Cumberpatch, Stanley J., USNRJune 1946 - 13 July 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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 24 December 2020