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HM LSE-(LC)-51
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HM LST-215 (1943 - 1944)
LST-215 was transferred to the United Kingdom for the duration of World War II
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Royal Navy History Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-215, 20 July 1943 Sailed from Norfolk, VA., 16 August 1943 as part of the 9th Flotilla bound for the invasion of the Andaman Islands, which was subsequently canceled Took part in the Invasion of Normandy Operated in the shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp Collided with a block ship at Ostend, 24 October 1944 Converted to a Landing Ship Emergency Repair (Landing Craft) at Amos & Smith, Hull, November 1944 to June 1945, redesignated HM LSE (LC)-51 Paid off and returned to US Navy custody, 27 July 1946 Struck from the Naval Register, 29 October 1946 Sold for conversion to merchant service, 11 September 1947 Final Disposition, fate unknown
Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
Displacement 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
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) Speed 12 kts. (maximum) Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons Complement 7 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 1 - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount 6 - 20MM mounts 4 - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts
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For Full Size ImageSize Image Description Source 82k HM LST-215 at anchor, date and place unknown. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla 96k HM LST-215 crew members Charlie Newman, left and Harry Birch, right, on liberty in Calcutta India, December 1943. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla 205k General Eisenhower's proclamation to the Allied troops on the eve of the Normandy Invasion, dated stamped, 5 June 1944 with HM LST-215 ships stamp. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla 86k HM LST-215 conducting loading exercises at Gosport, United Kingdom in May 1944 in preparation for the D-Day invasion of France. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla 181k HM LST-215 on the beach at Normandy in June 1944. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla 68k HM LSE (LC)-51 underway, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
View the LST-215
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) web site
Operation "Neptune" : Report of Proceedings Submitted by Roger Smoothy
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