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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Buncombe County (LST-510)
ex
USS LST-510 (1944 - 1955)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Yankee - Bravo
NDYB

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal

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During World War II USS LST-510 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater:
LST Flotilla Seventeen
LST Group Forty-Nine, CAPT. W.F. Royall and participated in the following campaign:

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

Merchant Service

Sold in September 1959 to the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District Commission (CBFD), Norfolk, VA.

Conversion into RO/RO ferry was accomplished at Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Norfolk, VA., renamed MS Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach operated between Kiptopeke, on Virginia's Eastern Shore and Little Creek in Virginia Beach, VA. from early 1960 to April 15 1964. ferry operations ceased on this date with the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

Virginia Beach along with three of her fleetmates was sold to the Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA) in 1964 for a new ferry crossing between Lewes, DE and North Cape May, N.J.

Virginia Beach and her sister ferries were refurbished at Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Virginia Beach was renamed MS Cape Henlopen

Cape Henlopen served the DRBA from July 1 1964 through the summer of 1975

Sold in 1975 to Mascony Transport and Ferry Service for a proposed ferry connection between Greenport, N.Y. and New London, CT.

Politics, environmental concerns and a competing ferry service were successful in preventing Mascony from obtaining a license to operate a new ferry service

In 1976 the Cape Henlopen was moved to India Point in Providence, R.I. where she remained idle

During OP Sail in the summer of 1976, Cape Henlopen ran excursions to Newport, R.I. to view the Tall Ships

In 1983 Cape Henlopen was sold to the Cross Sound Ferry (CSF). CSF refurbished her, made modifications and has since repowered her several times.

Current Disposition, operational as ferry between New London, CT. and Orient Point on Long Island, N.Y.

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Specifications:

Displacement

1,625 t.(lt)

4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)

2,366 t.

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

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ng Ship Tank Association

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
USS LST-510
	106k	USS LST-510 and an unknown LST anchored in an English port, circa late-May prior to the Normandy Invasion in June 1944. USS LST-510 has LCT(6)-1174 loaded on her main deck ready to be launched prior to the invasion while the unknown LST has LCT(6)-815 loaded on her main deck also ready for launch prior to the invasion.		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	127k	USS LST-510 beached at the Normandy beachhead, circa June-August 1944. LST Scuttlebutt, December 1990 issue (p. 16)		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	144k	USS LST-510 beached at at Le Havre, France, 1 November 1944. LST Scuttlebutt, November/December 1992 issue (p. 45)		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	103k	USS LST-510 beached, date and loction unknown.		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	216k	USS LST-510 after a bow-to-bow collision, due to heavy fog, with SS Chapel Hill Victory, in the English Channel, 5 February 1945. One crew member from USS LST 510, Mack H. Warren, S2c. (575 42 06), the bow lookout, was killed in the collision. Photo Source -LST Scuttlebutt, November/December 1992 issue (p. 45) Information Source: US National Archives Records Administration, Muster Rolls/Report of Changes, USS LST-510; 28 February 1945 (p. 2) and USS LST-510 War Diary - month of February 1945		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	188k	LCT 517 being loaded aboard USS LST-510 for the trip home in May 1945. LST Scuttlebutt, November/December 1992 issue (p. 45)		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	64k	USS LST-510 (with LCT 517 loaded on her main deck) and USS LST-291 nested with two unidentified LSTs in May 1945 at a US port. LST-510 also brought along 140 American prisoners of war on their journey home. LST Scuttlebutt, November/December 1992 issue (p. 45)		Zach Morris Associate Member and Editor, LST Scuttlebutt Magazine U.S. Landing Ship Tank Association
	239k	USS LST-510 under way, date and location unknown. Photo courtesy Paul Mcllvaine.		Tommy Trampp
	72k	D-Day plaque mounted on ex-USS LST-510. Photo taken by Amares (real name unknown).		Robert Hurst
Merchant Service
	144k	Ex-USS Buncombe County (LST-510) under way while in merchant service with the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District as MV Virginia Beach, circa 1960-1964. Photo includes specification for US Coast Guard. William J. Brooks family collection		William L. Baxter
	403k	Post card image of the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District's ferry MV Virginia Beach under way in Cheasepeake Bay, circa 1960.		William L. Baxter
	507k	Post card image of the Delaware River and Bay Authority's ferry MV Cape Henlopen entering Cape May, N.J., circa 1960s or 1970s.		William L. Baxter
	423k	Post card image of the Delaware River and Bay Authority's ferry MV Cape Henlopen under way in Delaware Bay, circa late 1960s.		William L. Baxter
	186k	MV Cape Henlopen in service with the Delaware River and Bay Authority, moored in a ferry slip at Cape May, N.J. in 1967.		Photo by William L. Baxter
	238k	MV Cape Henlopen in service with the Cross Sound Ferry Services, Inc. departing Orient Point, N.Y. for New London, CT., July 1995.		Photos by William L. Baxter
	248k
	210k
	215k
	55k	Ex-USS Buncombe County (LST-510) in merchant service with Cross Sound Ferry Services, Inc., as the ferry MV Cape Henlopen, date unknown.		Richard Houser
	191k	Ex-USS Buncombe County (LST-510) ribbon board. Photo taken 6 June 2010 by Mark Ameres.		Robert Hurst
	77k	MV Cape Henlopen underway, while in merchant service with Cross Sound Ferry Services, Inc., passing through Plum Gut between Orient Point and Plum Island on her regular run between Orient Point on Long Island and New London, CT., 2 September 2007		Bill Fraser
	584k	MV Cape Henlopen at New London, CT., date unknown. Photo courtesy Kyle Stubbs.		Tommy Trampp
	326k	MV Cape Henlopen underway in Block Island Sound, soon after being repowered with a pair of CAT 3516C IMO II engines in 2017. "Maritime Propulsion" blog, photo courtesy Twin Disc.		Bill Fraser and Ron Reeves
1016051024	109k	The Cross Sound Ferry MV Cape Henlopen at Orient Point, Suffolk County, New York, 29 July 2018. Photo by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license		Robert Hurst
1016051025	239k	The Cross Sound Ferry MV Cape Henlopen seen arriving in New London, CT., 12 August 2021. Photographer unknown. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license		Robert Hurst

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USS LST-510 / USS Buncombe County (LST-510)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. Andrews, George Page, USN	18 January 1944 - March 1945
02	LT. Sandefur, Daniel D., USNR	March 1945 - July 1945
03	LT. O'Neill, John William, USNR	July 1945 - December 1945
04	LT. Mack, Edward Joseph, USNR	December 1945 - 1 July 1946

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
The USS LST Ship Memorial
LST Homeport
State LST Chapters
United States LST Association

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Last Updated 14 July 2023