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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-695

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Oscar - Kilo
NFOK

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive-24 October 1944)American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)

Personnel Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Silver Star-4 {LTjg. Matthew C. Cavoretto, ENS. George E Zillgitt, CMoMM David h. Stehens, MoMM1 Walter J. Boademan}
Bronze Star-8 (LT. Joseph F. White Jr., ENS. Harry D. Hendren, MoMM3c Edgar R. Snider, RdM3c Leland G. Morlan, F1c Samuel L. Mowder, S1c John S Strzelezyk, Cox Leonard C. Hern, F1c John L. Hershey
Purple Hearts (estimated 56+)
Commander 7th Fleet Letters of Commendation-5 (ENS. James E. Welch, S1c Wellington C. Grant, S1c Carl W. Puckett, S1c Thorn P. Starkey, S1c William E. Tinsmith

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 28 February 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 24 April 1944

Commissioned USS LST-695, 22 May 1944, at New Orleans, LT. D. M. Freeman Jr., USNR in command

During World War II USS LST-695 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Eight, CAPT E. Watts, USN;
LST Group Twenty-Three, CDR. T.C. Linthicum, USN;
LST Division Forty-Six and participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Western New Guinea operations Morotai landings, 15 September 1944	Leyte operations Leyte landings, Tacloban, San Pedro Bay, 16 October to 29 November 1944

Struck by torpedo attack by Japanese submarine HIJMS I-56, 24 October 1944

Decommissioned, 6 November 1945

Struck from the Naval Register, 28 November 1945

USS LST-695 earned two battle stars for World War II service

Final Disposition, sold, 22 March 1946, to George Pollock Co., Stockton, CA., fate unknown

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

9 officers, 120 enlisted

Troop Accommodations

14 officers, 131 enlisted

Boats 6 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
1016069505	314k	USS LST-695 crew photo taken upon completion of training at Camp Bedford Amphibious Warfare Training Center, Norfolk, VA. in February 1944	Craig Freeman for his father Deane Freeman Jr. LST-695
1016069501	357k	USS LST-695 en route to the Philippines, 24 October 1944. Note the rough awnings rigged to shield men from the tropical sun. The ship is crowded with troops and supplies bound for Leyte Island, Philippine Islands. Large numbers of troops had to live on deck as more were carried than could be quartered below. US National Archives Identifier # 80662621 a US Army Signal Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives	David Upton and Robert Hurst
	54k	USS LST-695 beached while unloading a bulldozer, date and location unknown.	Craig Freeman for his father Deane Freeman Jr. LST-695
1016069506	178k	USS LST-695 unloading equipment, date and location unknown	Craig Freeman for his father Deane Freeman Jr. LST-695
	280k	A cropped photo of USS LST-695 drydocked. showing damage to the ship's stern from torpedo attack by Japanese submarine *HIJMS I-56* on 24 October 1944.	Craig Freeman for his father Deane Freeman Jr. LST-695
1016069507	202k	USS LST-695 underway while in company with USS LST-537, date and location unknown.	Craig Freeman for his father Deane Freeman Jr. LST-695
	31k	USS LST-695 enters Advance Base Sectional Dock USS ABSD-2, 11 April 1945 at Manus, Admiralty Islands. US Navy photo, Still Pictures Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.	Robert Hurst

USS LST-695
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Freeman Jr., Deane M., USNR	22 May 1944 - September 1945
02	LT. Watson, Edward B., USNR	September 1945 - 6 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

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This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 5 February 2021