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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Esmeraldo County (LST-761)
ex
 USS LST-761 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Kilo - Charlie
 NGKC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal

USS LST-761 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 18 June 1944, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.
  • Launched, 7 August 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-761, 2 September 1944, LT. Harry A. Swagart, Jr., USCGR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-761 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Nine, CAPT. C. H. Peterson USCG (25);
     LST Group Eighty-Five, CDR. W. B. Millington USCG;
     LST Division One Hundred Seventy and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 15 March 1945

  • Coast Guard crew removed, 29 March 1946
  • Decommissioned, 19 July 1946
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Named USS Esmeraldo County (LST-761), 1 July 1955
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LST-761 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sunk as a target in 1959
    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 Source
    LST-761 159k USS LST-761 beached at Iwo Jima, date unknown. Ed Storey
    LST-761 132k USS LST-761 at anchor off San Francisco, CA., circa 1945-46.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 79023. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974    		 Michael Marzolla for his father,
    Lt. Anthony Mario Marzolla USCG, CO USS LST-761
    LST-761 83k USS LST-761 and USS LST-969 moored pierside, San Diego, CA., 4 October 1945. Jeff Sulewski to honor is father Edward Sulewski, Cox. USCG USS LST-761
    LST-761 143k USS LST-761 moored at a ramp while loading/unloading, date and location unknown. Kathy Keitel Dempsey for her father Thomas Joseph Keitel, USCG FC2 USS LST-761
    USS LST-761 / USS Esmeraldo County (LST-761)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Swagart Jr., Harry A., USCGR2 September 1944 - 5 October 1944
    02LT. Huff, Carl N., USCGR5 October 1944 - 19 June 1945
    03LT. Katona, Michael E., (temporary) USCGR19 June 1945 - 9 July 1945
    04LT. Huff, Carl N., USCGR9 July 1945 - 19 May 1946
    05LT. Benedict, Howard Melville, USNR19 May 1946 - 30 June 1946
    06LT. Flickinger, Glenn William, USN30 June 1946 - 19 July 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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 20 July 2018