Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USNS T-LST-581
ex
 USS LST-581 (1944 - 1952)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Yankee - Alpha
 NEYA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Vietnam Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 17 May 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 29 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-581, 27 July 1944, LT. O. F. Rapelyea USN in command (May 1945)
  • During World War II LST-581 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Six, CAPT. Laidlaw;
     LST Group Seventeen, CAPT. E. Watts USN;
     LST Division Thirty-Three and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 16 May to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-581 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    6 to 23 September 1945
    23 December 1945 to 28 January 1946

  • Decommissioned, 28 January 1946 and assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q030
  • Transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service, 31 March 1952 and placed in service as USNS T-LST-581
  • Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1972
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission (MARAD), 25 May 1948
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 25 May 1973, to Dongkuk Steel Company of America, Inc., Los Angeles, CA.
  • USS LST-581 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
    LST-581 67k USNS T-LST-681 underway at Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, circa 1965-66. Photo by Reg Truman YN3 USNR USS Sumner County (LST 1148), 1965-67
    USS LST-581
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS. Rapelyea, O. F., USN27 July 1944 - 28 January 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
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 19 December 2014