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

USS LST-704

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Quebec - Juliet
NFQJ

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)
Personal Awards

Purple Hearts (2 KIA, 23 WIA [2 later died] 21 October 1944)

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 27 April 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 3 June 1944

Commissioned USS LST-704, 27 June 1944, LT. Wollen H. Walshe, USNR, in command

During World War II USS LST-704 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Leyte operation Leyte landings, 20-21 October 1944	Okinawa Gunto operations Assault and Occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 9 April

Following service in the Southwest Pacific Area USS LST-704 was assigned to:
LST Flotilla Three, CDR. A. A. Ageton USN (23);
LST Group Eight;
LST Division Sixteen

Following World War II USS LST-704 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 15 October to 27 December 1945

Decommissioned, 19 June 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 25 September 1946

USS LST-704 earned two battle stars for World War II service

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 May 1948, to Basalt Rock Co., Inc., Napa, CA.

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	Contributed By
	123k	USS LST-990, USS LST-704, USS LST-746 and three or four additional LSTs beached at Leyte, date unknown.	Paul Webber from the collection of Lou Hall (deceased) 124th Infantry Regiment, 31st Infantry Division.
	55k	USS LSM-115 beached alongside USS LST-704, date and location unknown.	Robert Morris, CO USS LSM-115
1016048607	10,728k	From right to left; USS LST-269, USS LST-486, USS LST-270, USS LST-704 and USS LST-117 and three unidentified LSTs (all of LST Flotilla Three) spread along (from the left) Orange Two, Orange One, Blue Two, Blue One beaches of the initial landings on Leyte Island, Philippines. The date is 21 October 1944 between 0914 and 1051 hours. Within the next few hours the Japanese would rain down mortar and artillery fire onto these beaches.hitting LST-486 on main deck between frames 14 and 15, no casualties; LST-269 received two direct mortar hits killing two and wounding three; LST-704 received seven direct hits by mortar and artillery causing much damage and killing two, and wounding twenty-three with two dying later. Ref. LST-704 War Diary and COMLSTFLOT3 War Diary, U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo 254880 now in the collections of the US National Archives, Local ID 111-SCA-2857. National Archives ID 80662621.	David Upton

USS LST-704
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Walshe, Wollen H. USNR	27 June 1944 - 18 August 1945
02	LT. Dunlap, John B. USNR	18 August 1945 - 30 November 1945
03	LTjg. McQueen, John Edd USN	30 November 1945 - 19 June 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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 10 December 2021