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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-796


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Zulu - Kilo
 NGZK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS LST-796 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 6 August 1944, at the Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Launched, 1 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-796, 20 October 1944, LT. Edward A. Dunton USCG in command
  • During World War II USS LST-796 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Nine, CAPT. C. H. Peterson USCG (25)
     LST Group Eight-Six, CDR. W. B. Millington USCG (32)
     LST Division One Hundred Seventy-Three and participated in following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-796 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    2 September to 16 December 19452 September to 16 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, 17 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946
  • USS LST-796 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 22 September 1947, to the Southern Shipwrecking Co., of New Orleans, LA.
    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-796
    1016079603    		 254k Launching of LST-796, 1 October 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
    Dravo Corp. photo.    		 Jon Strupp
    LST-796 217k USS LST-796 underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Jim Kurrasch
    Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
    LST-796 85k From front to back, USS LST-796, USS LST-794, USS LST-843, unidentified LST, and USS LST-1030 beached, date and location unknown while disembarking troops.  
    USS LST-796
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Dunton, Edward A., USCG20 October 1944 - 17 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    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 19 August 2022